What are Iowa Criminal Court Records?

Iowa criminal court records refer to documented information generated during criminal court proceedings. This information typically includes sworn affidavits, witness testimonies, deposition tapes, trial transcripts, plaintiff and/or defendant information and records of court actions, motions filed and judgments. Under Iowa State Code Chapter 22, most of the records  maintained by the Iowa judicial branch, can be accessed, examined and copied by any and every interested member of the public except where otherwise stated by statutory law.

Understanding the Iowa Criminal Court System

The Iowa state judicial system can be divided into two groups, the Appellate Courts and the Trial Courts. The appellate courts consist of the state Supreme Court and the state Court of Appeals while the trial courts consist of several District Courts located in each county. The Iowa state judicial system can further be broken down as follows:

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court consists of seven members and is the constitutional head of the Iowa state judicial branch. This court’s primary function is to review the decisions, as well as any other written records, of trial courts in which appeals have been allowed with the aim of determining whether any significant legal errors may have occurred during the trial process. This court’s hearings do not involve juries, witnesses or the introduction of any new evidence. The Supreme Court exercises supervisory and administrative control over the state judicial branch and all judicial employees. This court also has the sole power to admit attorneys to the Iowa state bar and prescribes rules for attorney conduct as well as promulgating rules of procedure for the state courts.

The Iowa state Supreme Court is considered a court of last resort, as such its opinions are binding on all other Iowa state courts.

Court of Appeals

The Iowa court of appeals is an intermediate appellate court, and just like the Supreme Court, it does not preside over trials but reviews written records of trial courts to determine whether significant legal errors might have occurred. Appeals on trial court decisions are usually transferred to this court by the Supreme Court for review, and its decisions are considered final unless further reviewed by the Supreme Court. The Iowa court of appeals is responsible for handling a majority of the appeals filed in the state and some of the opinions rendered by this court are published and even become precedents for subsequent cases.

District Courts

The district courts are trial courts and have general jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters. As such nearly all felonies, misdemeanors, and infraction cases heard in the state of Iowa begin in them. The state of Iowa is divided into 8 judicial districts, each district is headed by a chief judge and there is at least one district court located in every county in the state. These chief judges are selected by the Supreme Court.

Juvenile Courts

The juvenile court is a specialized division of the district courts that handles certain cases involving the lives of children. This court has authority over ‘Child in Need of Assistance’ cases and delinquency cases. Child in Need of Assistance cases typically involve abused, abandoned or neglected children and may lead to the termination of the parental rights of these children’s parents or legal guardians while delinquency cases involve acts committed by children that would otherwise be considered criminal if committed by an adult.

Most federal crimes committed in Iowa fall under the jurisdiction of two United States District Courts for the Northern District of Iowa and the Southern District of Iowa.

What are some examples of felonies in Iowa?

The following are examples of felonies in Iowa:

• Use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony
• Selected sexual offenses
• Manslaughter
• Identity theft
• Unauthorized computer access
• Robbery
• Arson
• Computer damage
• Theft
• Telemarketing fraud
• Unlicensed contractor fraud
• Trademark counterfeiting
• False labeling Hawaii-grown coffee
• Reckless endangering
• Criminal property damage
• Violation of privacy
• Unauthorized entry into vehicles
• Unauthorized possession of personal confidential information

What’s included in an Iowa Criminal Court Record?

Court records in the state of Iowa typically share similar features and contain similar information. However, the total amount of information readily available in these records may vary depending on the type of court where the case was handled as well as the type of case heard. Generally, Iowa criminal court records contain the following information:

• Court case ID
• Personal information on the defendant and/or the plaintiff
• Criminal charge(s) details
• Actions taken on the case
• Docket number
• Case status

In addition to these, criminal court records also typically include the name of the judge(s), any legal counsel, hearing dates, hearing times, hearing type, court location, motions, briefs, and pleadings.

In addition, criminal court records may also feature Iowa arrest records, active or executed Iowa warrants, and inmate-related information if they are relevant to the case or the parties involved.

Obtaining Iowa Criminal Court Records

In accordance with Iowa state public records laws, the Iowa judicial branch is committed to providing an open and transparent court system to members of the public. In line with this commitment, any interested parties who wish to inspect and/or obtain copies of Iowa criminal court records may do by any of the following means:

• Inspecting and/or obtaining records in-person
• Sending verbal and/or written requests to the appropriate record custodian
• Accessing records online
• Utilizing a third-party aggregate site

How Do I Access Iowa Criminal Court Records in Person?

This method of accessing and/or obtaining copies of court records in the state of Iowa is typically recommended for interested parties who wish to obtain full case information which may not be otherwise obtained by other methods due to online restrictions. To obtain these records in person, interested parties may wish to proceed through the following steps:

Identify The Right Court

Criminal cases in the state of Iowa are generally handled by the district courts. As stated earlier, these courts are spread across 8 judicial districts in the state and can be located in every county. Therefore, interested parties who wish to access criminal court records have to identify the particular court where the case in question was filed/heard. As a means of aiding members of the public with this task, the Iowa judicial branch maintains and regularly updates an online court directory which provides contact details for all the courthouses, courthouse officials as well as courthouse locations in the state.

Gather Case Information

In order to access criminal court records, interested members of the public are often required to provide the records custodian with any relevant information necessary to facilitate record searches. This information usually includes the name of the defendant, the victim’s or the witness’s name(s), the date the original charge(s) was filed as well as the case file number of the record. It should be noted the information required may vary according to the type of court.

Visit the Court Record Custodian

In the Iowa state judicial branch, court records custodians differ depending on the requestor as well as the type of document being requested. Generally, persons who wish to request for court records from district court cases direct such requests to the office of the clerk of court in the county where the case was filed while requests for court records from any of the state’s appellate courts are directed to the clerk of the Iowa Supreme Court. In addition to this, requests for court records from the media, regardless of the type of record(s) being requested, are typically directed to the judicial branch communications director. Contact details for these record custodians are listed in the online court directory provided in the ‘Identify the Right Court’ segment above.

Provide Identification and Pay Any Required Fees

Under state laws, an inspection of public records is usually free of charge. Parties who wish to obtain copies of these records may be required to provide a form of identification, usually a government-issued photo ID and pay any applicable fee. This fee is usually calculated by the type of record being copied and the number of copies required and may vary depending on the court.

How Do I Find Iowa Criminal Court Records by Mail?

Requests for court records can be made to the Iowa state judicial branch either verbally or in writing, the latter of which is recommended by record custodians for complex requests. However, interested members of the public who wish to obtain copies of criminal court records via mail must first establish that this option is available at the court where the case was filed. Interested parties can do this by contacting the appropriate record custodian through the contact information listed in the online court directory provided above.

Generally, requirements for obtaining court records by mail include a written request for these documents sent to the record custodian. This request should contain details of the criminal court case as well as details of the requestor and should be sent along with any required payment (usually money orders or checks made out to the office of the record custodian) and a self-addressed envelope. It should be noted that these requirements may vary and so interested parties are advised to contact the record custodians for any other additional requirements.

How to Find Iowa Criminal Court Records Online?

The Iowa state judicial branch provides interested parties with online access to certain court records through its Iowa Court Information System. This database allows interested parties to perform a statewide search of criminal cases by either name, citation number or case ID and is regularly updated by the courts. However, some sections of this platform require registration by members of the public before they can be accessed.

Records can also be obtained via third-party aggregate sites. Operating autonomously as a private entity, distinct from any affiliation with state government agencies, these websites provide interested parties with the advantage of accessibility from remote locations. To search for records on these sites, interested parties will be required to provide the name of a party involved in the criminal case and the location of the record in question such as a city or county.

It should be noted that third-party sites are not government-sponsored websites and as such record results, availability and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

Are all Iowa Criminal Court Records Public?

Under Iowa State Code Chapter 22, public records in the state of Iowa refer to all records of or belonging to a government body or official. By this definition, criminal court records are considered public records and, except where exempted by state statutory law, can be examined and/or copied by any interested party.

How do I find Iowa Public Records for Free?

Interested parties can examine public records for free by contacting the appropriate record custodian. However, fees may be charged for obtaining copies of these records and in some cases for the staff time. Staff time refers, but is not excluded to, time spent retrieving these records and reviewing them for any confidential or exempted information and redacting as necessary.

In addition to this, the state of Iowa also provides online resources that allow access to certain court records free of charge.

Can I Access Sealed Iowa Criminal Court Records?

Under Iowa state law, sealed criminal court records can only be accessed by eligible interested parties, in most cases authorized members of a law enforcement agency or officers of the court. Members of the public who wish to access sealed criminal court records may do so by obtaining a court order authorizing the unsealing of the record.

Are all Juvenile Criminal Court Records open to the Public?

According to Iowa State Code Chapter 232.147, juvenile court records are considered confidential and thus not open to the public, with the exception of cases involving the commission of a delinquent act that would be classified as a forcible felony if committed by an adult.

Additionally, publicly available records may be accessible from some third-party websites. These websites offer the benefit of not being limited by geographical record availability and can often serve as a starting point when researching a specific or multiple records. To find a record using the search engines on these sites, interested parties must provide:

• The name of someone involved, providing it is not a juvenile
• The assumed location of the record in question such as a city, county, or state name

Third-party sites are not government-sponsored websites, and record availability may differ from official channels.

What Records are Automatically Sealed by Iowa Statute?

The state of Iowa does not automatically seal any public records. Some records are however deemed confidential and cannot be disclosed to members of the public who don’t have legal authorization. Some of these records include:

• Medical records
• Juvenile corrections facility inmate records
• Military confidential records
• Archaeological and historical ecologically sensitive material locations and information
• Trade Secrets
• Personal information on accepted students, current students, and past students
• Records of attorneys who represent the state
• Information maintained by mediators employed to solve disputes with/between government agencies
• Corrections Department information that might constitute a security risk if exposed
• Information on the donors of charitable contributions
• Personal information in records of employees and elected officials of public agencies

Are Trial Transcripts Open to the Public?

Generally, trial transcripts are considered public records and copies of these records may be obtained by contacting the court reporter in the court where the case was heard. Obtaining these copies usually requires the payment of a fee. It should be noted that transcripts of sealed proceedings in the state of Iowa can generally only be ordered by parties who participated in the hearing. In most instances, any other parties who wish to obtain transcripts of a sealed proceeding will require a court order.