Black Hawk County
As the fifth most populous county in Iowa, Black Hawk County is home to over 130,000 people and covers 565.8 square miles of land area. Its county seat is Waterloo and was founded in February 1853. The county is named after a Sauk leader during the Black Hawk War in 1832.
The court structure in Black Hawk County follows the unified trial court system operated in the state where the district court exercises jurisdiction over all case types. The Black Hawk County district court has general jurisdiction over criminal, civil, juvenile, and probate matters in the county. It is where nearly all cases in the county begin. In the district court, parties start lawsuits, prosecutors file criminal charges, trials occur, lawyers provide evidence, witnesses testify, juries deliberate, and judges enter judgments.
The juvenile division of the district court handles cases of juvenile delinquency, termination of parental rights, adoption, families in need of assistance, children in need of assistance, and voluntary foster care placement proceedings. The probate division of the court hears matters of estate of decedents and absentees, construction of wills, trusts and trustees, and conservatorships and guardianships. Cases of small civil claims involving limited amounts of money in dispute, including some landlord-tenant cases are referred to the small claims division of the district court.
Information on cases held in all divisions of the district court in Black Hawk County makes up the court records. While most court records are public, some are closed, such as those relating to juvenile cases and others sealed per court orders. Court records are maintained by the clerk of the district court.
To search public district court records in Black Hawk County, use the Iowa Courts online search available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website. You can complete a search by providing the name of the participant in a case, case ID number, or citation number.
