• Clerk, North Lee: 701 Avenue F, Fort Madison, IA 52627; 319-372-3523.
• Clerk, South Lee: Lee County Courthouse, 25 North 7th Street, Suite 301, Keokuk, IA 52632; 319-524-2433.
• Lee County Attorney: Keokuk office in the South Lee courthouse, 319-524-9590; Fort Madison office at 710 Avenue F, 319-372-5673.
• Lee County Jail: 2530 255th Street, Montrose, IA 52639; 319-376-2355.

Soon after booking at Montrose, the defendant appears before a magistrate, often on video, to hear the charge, have release terms set and request a lawyer. Arrests without a warrant get a judicial probable cause review inside 48 hours.

• Magistrate: simple misdemeanors, traffic violations and city ordinance cases from Fort Madison, Keokuk, Donnellson, West Point and Montrose.
• District associate judge: most OWIs plus the other aggravated and serious misdemeanors.
• District judge: felonies, with juvenile court heard here as well.

1. Booking at Montrose and a first court appearance.
2. Formal charging by trial information, due within roughly 45 days.
3. Arraignment, commonly handled by a written plea.
4. Evidence sharing, depositions and pretrial rulings.
5. Trial inside 90 days of arraignment, a deadline the defense can give up.
6. A presentence investigation and then sentencing after any conviction.

On Iowa Courts Online, Lee County cases are split between North Lee and South Lee, so try both if a search comes up empty. Juvenile and sealed files are not public.

Anyone unable to hire an attorney should raise it at the first hearing, where the court will hand over a financial affidavit to sign. The State Public Defender system supplies counsel to those who qualify, and a judge can later order part of the cost repaid.

Juvenile Court Services has an office in each half of the county: 710 Avenue F, Fort Madison, and 14 South 5th Street, Keokuk. Youths ordered held go to the South Iowa Area Detention Service Agency center at 2528 255th Street, Montrose, IA 52639, next to the county jail; 319-463-7417.

Federal prosecutions from Lee County are heard by the Southern District of Iowa in Davenport, 131 East 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801; the district clerk's office main line, 515-284-6248, covers this courthouse too. See PACER for filings and the BOP locator for federal prisoners.

Our Lee County bail page covers amounts, no-bond charges and refunds.

There are two, so call the one where the case was filed: North Lee at 701 Avenue F in Fort Madison (319-372-3523) or South Lee at 25 North 7th Street, Suite 301, in Keokuk (319-524-2433). Either clerk can talk about a new date after a missed hearing. The sheriff's deputies serve the warrants, at 319-372-1152. No names are made public, and Iowa runs no statewide search, but Iowa Courts Online shows each case.