With limited exceptions, in order to initiate a civil lawsuit in Connecticut Superior Court, the plaintiff must hire a marshal to physically serve the complaint and summons on the defendant (or their designated agent) in person or to leave a physical copy of those documents at the defendant's address. That should change.

The policy supporting this proposal is almost self-evident. Unlike an arrest warrant, a civil lawsuit rarely catches a defendant by surprise. To the contrary, before the filing of a lawsuit, the parties to a civil dispute are often engaged in negotiations—generally through their respective lawyers—and the plaintiff only initiates a lawsuit in Superior Court if those negotiations reach an impasse.