• Clerk of District Court: 612 North 2nd Street, P.O. Box 2957, Clinton, IA 52732; 563-243-6213.
• Clinton County Jail: Law Center, 241 Seventh Avenue North, Clinton, IA 52732; 563-242-9211.
• Juvenile Court Office: 121 Sixth Avenue South, Suite 102, Clinton, IA 52732; 563-243-3349.
• State Public Defender, Davenport Office: 300 Brady Street, 3rd Floor, Davenport, IA 52801; 563-265-3470.

1. First appearance: a magistrate sets release terms and appoints a lawyer if you qualify.
2. Formal charges: the county attorney files a trial information for indictable cases.
3. Arraignment: a district judge takes your plea.
4. Pretrial: discovery, motions and plea talks.
5. Trial and sentence: before a judge or jury, if the case does not settle.

Simple misdemeanors and traffic cases stay with magistrates. Track dates on Iowa Courts Online.

At your first appearance, explain that you can't pay an attorney and sign the financial affidavit. The State Public Defender office in Davenport takes only class A and B felonies from Clinton County. Lesser felonies and misdemeanors go to contract or court-appointed lawyers. If convicted, you may be ordered to repay part of the cost. See our bail guide for release.

Seventh District juvenile court officers at 121 Sixth Avenue South, Suite 102, 563-243-3349, review complaints against youth. They can resolve minor matters informally or refer the case for a delinquency petition. Certain serious charges against 16- and 17-year-olds begin in adult court, and other cases can be waived up.

Federal crimes from Clinton County are tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Eastern Division, 131 East 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801; calls go to the clerk's main line in Des Moines, 515-284-6248. For federal custody, see our inmate search page.

Clinton youths ordered detained go to the Scott County Juvenile Detention Center, 500 West 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801, 563-326-8686. A judge must hold a detention hearing inside 1 working day.

You will be screened with a metal detector on the way in. The clerk for Clinton County is at 563-243-6213, and documents can be faxed to 563-243-3655.

Deputies under the sheriff carry out North 2nd Street courthouse warrants, reachable at 563-242-9211. They keep names off the internet, and Iowa, unlike some states, has no public statewide search, so call to be sure. Iowa Courts Online shows the case. Should a missed hearing be the cause, the Clerk of District Court at 612 North 2nd Street in Clinton, 563-243-6213, can explain getting back before a Clinton judge.