1. The district court sitting in small claims shall exercise the jurisdiction conferred by this chapter, and shall determine small claims according to the statutes and the rules prescribed by this chapter. Except when transferred from the small claims docket as provided in section 631.8, small claims may be tried by a judicial magistrate, a district associate judge, or a district judge.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 631.2

  • clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • 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.
  • Magistrate: means a judicial officer appointed under chapter 602, article 6, part 4. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
 2. The clerk of the district court shall maintain a separate small claims docket which shall contain all matters relating to small claims which are required by section 602.8104, subsection 2, paragraph “e”, to be contained in a combination docket.
 3. Statutes and rules relating to venue and jurisdiction shall apply to small claims, except that a provision of this chapter which is inconsistent therewith shall supersede that statute or rule.
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