Iowa Civ Pro Blog

Iowa's 6th Judicial District Adopts New Local Rules

Six of Iowa's eight judicial districts have local rules to which attorneys need to adhere. The two holdouts have been the 4th (which includes Pottawattamie County) and 6th judicial districts.

On July 27, the 6th judicial district (covering Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Tama counties) joined the majority and adopted its first local rules. There are four of them.

Rule 1 states that unresisted motions must (a) contain the word "unresisted" in the caption; (b) specifically name the attorneys who do not resist; and (c) be accompanied by a proposed order.

Rule 2 states: "All Motions for Continuance, Motions to Withdraw, Motions to Extend Deadlines and Motions to Exceed Fee Guidelines shall be accompanied by a proposed Order."

Rules 1 and 2 turn a good practice -- proposed orders on certain types of motions -- into a mandatory practice.

Rule 3 states that the certificate of service in motions to withdraw as counsel must certify a service copy was sent to the client, unless the client's written consent to the withdrawal is attached to the motion.

Rule 4 mandates the form for orders allowing counsel to withdraw in civil cases in which the withdrawing attorney has not yet been replaced by another attorney who has filed an appearance. (Download the form Order to Withdraw.)

Here is an unsigned copy of Supervisory Order 2009-7 adopting the rules. Signed and file-stamped copies of the order may be obtained from the Linn County Clerk's office. The rules become effective August 26.

Iowa Supreme Court Allows Clerks to Email Orders and Notices

On June 29, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court entered a supervisory order authorizing the clerks of court to email -- rather than mail -- judgments, orders, decrees, and notices. The authorization occurs through an amendment to Rule 1.453. The amendment is effective immediately as a temporary amendment until it becomes permanent on August 28.

The change is undoubtedly part of the Court's cost savings measures.

Problems for attorneys and their clients may arise if overzealous spam filters block a clerk's email attaching a court order or notice. Attorneys should make sure their email system allows emails from the iowacourts.gov address to pass through.