Polk County Court Information

Polk County lies within the 5th judicial district of Iowa. Like every other state of the United States of America, the Polk County Courts are divided according to the court system of the country. The Polk County Court is the court of appeals within its limits of geographical jurisdiction. Most of the cases in Polk County are heard in the various district courts located in this county.

About the Courthouse

The historical Polk County Courthouse is located at 5th Mulberry Street, Des Moines, Iowa. If you wish to contact the clerk of the court you can visit the following address:

500 Mulberry Street, Room 212
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
Phone: 515-286-3772

The Polk County Small Claims and Traffic Court is located at 500 S.W. 7th Street, Iowa.
The Polk county courthouse is open from 7:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the evening from Monday to Friday to the public. The courthouse remains closed on state holidays. If you wish to reach the Jury Clerk at Polk Court, you may call 286-3769. To know more about the Polk County Courthouse you may take a quick look at the government website http://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/.

Activities of the Polk County Court

Like every other county in the United States, Polk County has district courts, municipal courts and small claims courts. District Courts of Polk County hear most of the cases within its jurisdiction. A small claims court hears cases of small claims or minor legal disputes between parties where the amount involved is not more than $5,000.

In a small claims court you don’t need a lawyer as this court does not follow the formalities of a regular court. The small claims court is considered to be the people’s court. The cost of filing a case in the small claims court depends on the county government. The Polk County district courts hear appeals of criminal cases, civil cases, family cases, divorce cases, juvenile cases and felony cases.

The state of Iowa has eight districts altogether. These districts consist of more than one city of Iowa. Polk County falls in the fifth district of Iowa. Other than Polk County, this district includes counties like Adair, Dallas, Adams, Clarke, Lucas, Jasper, Guthrie, Decatur, Warren, Ringgold, Union, Taylor, Marion, Madison and Wayne. The Chief Judge of the District Court is Arthur E. Gamble and the District Court Administrator is Beth Baldwin. If you wish to know more about the district court of Polk County you may refer to the following official Iowa courts website: http://www.iowacourts.gov/District_Courts/Directory_of_District_Court_Administration/

Contact Information

You can find information about case scheduling from the following contact details:

* Civil/General Trial — Colleen Flannery: 286-3754 

* Criminal Felony— Janice Cooney: 286-3423 

* Family Law — Diane Cox: 286-3930 

* Criminal DAJ — Carol Moore: 286-3912 

* Juvenile— Vicky Lattimer: 286-3370; Janis Haines: (515) 286-3859  

* Jail — Gail Conklin: 286-2083 

Polk County Court Online Services

Polk County court has online services too. If you are searching for the current status of your case you will find it on the official website of Polk County Court. You only need to register your name on the website to get the necessary information.

Information on Polk County court is available on the Internet too. There are various websites created by the government that offer information about the workings of the court and its proceedings. If you are searching for Polk County court websites you may visit http://www.iowacourts.gov/district_courts/district_five/juror_information/polk/index.asp.