Nearly all cases begin in the district (trial) court and there is one district court in every county in Iowa. The district court has general jurisdiction of civil, criminal, juvenile, and probate matters in the state. It is where parties start their lawsuits, prosecutors file criminal charges, trials take place, lawyers offer evidence, witnesses testify, juries deliberate, and judges enter judgments. For purposes of administration, Iowa is divided into eight judicial districts. A chief judge who is selected by the Iowa Supreme Court heads each district.
A person can also pay their court fines online at www.iowacourts.gov. They can represent themselves by looking through the court rules and forms and since Iowa is an electronically filing state, they must file actions electronically or in other terms, through a computer with the link on that same site. Those instructions are located on the same website under the tab “For the Public”. A person can also search for an Iowa attorney or locate phone number contacts. Also, please note that the Clerk of the Court cannot give legal advice as their only duty is an administrator of the records of court files for each county for which they are responsible.
Lisa Grashoff
