Terms Used In Iowa Code 600B.21

  • Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
 If after the complaint the mother dies or becomes mentally ill or cannot be found within the jurisdiction, the proceeding does not abate, but the child shall be substituted as complainant. The testimony of the mother taken by deposition as in other civil cases, may in any such case be read as evidence and in all cases shall be read as evidence if demanded by the defendant.