• Clerk of District Court: 12 1st Avenue NW, Suite 203, Hampton, IA 50441; 641-456-5626.
• Franklin County Attorney: courthouse basement, 12 1st Avenue NW, Hampton, IA 50441 (mail to PO Box 477); 641-456-6027; weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Prosecutors here also bring juvenile delinquency petitions.
• Franklin County Sheriff: Law Enforcement Center, 105 5th Street SW, Hampton, IA 50441; 24-hour line 641-456-2731.

This first hearing before a magistrate is often held by video from the partner jail. The charge is read, release conditions follow, and the defendant may apply to have a lawyer named. For a warrantless arrest, probable cause gets reviewed within 48 hours.

• Magistrate: simple misdemeanors, traffic matters and city ordinance tickets from Hampton, Sheffield and other towns.
• District associate judge: drunk-driving charges and the rest of the serious and aggravated misdemeanor docket.
• District judge: every felony, and the juvenile docket too.

1. Arrest, booking at a partner jail, and the first appearance.
2. Formal charges by trial information, generally within 45 days.
3. Arraignment, often waived in writing.
4. Evidence exchange, depositions and motion hearings in Hampton.
5. The speedy-trial rule: 90 days from formal charges, unless the accused waives it.
6. A presentence report and a sentencing hearing after conviction.

Choose Franklin County on Iowa Courts Online and enter a name or case number for the charges, bond, hearings and orders. Juvenile and sealed files are not public.

Ask the magistrate and fill out the financial affidavit. When eligible, the court appoints counsel through the State Public Defender, often a contract attorney for this county. The clerk at 641-456-5626 can confirm that the order was entered.

A district judge serves as juvenile court in Hampton, and the County Attorney brings the petitions. Juvenile Court Services for the area works from 220 North Washington Avenue, Mason City, IA 50401. A youth who must be detained is taken to the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, 2317 Rick Collins Way, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-858-3852.

In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, Central Division. Its clerk is at 320 6th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, 712-233-3900. Filings are on PACER, and federal prisoners appear on the BOP locator.

See our Franklin County bail page for the bond schedule, bond types, refunds and the 2026 law.

The Franklin County clerk is at 641-456-5626 (fax 641-456-5628). The building bans weapons. Hearing dates come from the district at 641-494-3612.

Franklin County sheriff's deputies serve warrants issued in Hampton, and the office answers around the clock at 641-456-2731. No Franklin names are published, and Iowa has no statewide public search. The case appears on Iowa Courts Online. When a missed Hampton hearing caused it, the Clerk of District Court at 12 1st Avenue NW, Ste. 203, Hampton (641-456-5626), can explain how a reset might happen.