US · rules
N.D. Iowa LCrR 3
Complaints
a. Presentation. Complaints ordinarily should be presented to a magistrate judge for review and
execution, but a complaint may be presented to a district court judge if no magistrate judge is
available. If no federal judge is reasonably available, a complaint may be presented to a state
or local judicial officer.
A copy of the proposed complaint and any supporting affidavits must be delivered to the
magistrate judge for his or her private review before a request is made for the magistrate judge
to sign the complaint. For good cause shown, the magistrate judge may waive this requirement.
b. How Filed. All criminal complaints must be filed using the ECF system (see LR 5A(g)(3)).
Notwithstanding Local Rule 5A(j), a complaint will be deemed by the court to have been filed
on the date it is signed by a federal judge.
c. Lawyer for Government. Ordinarily, a person presenting a complaint to a magistrate judge
should be accompanied by a lawyer for the government. If justified by unusual circumstances,
a magistrate judge may entertain a proposed complaint from a person who is not accompanied
by a lawyer for the government.
d. Emergencies. In an emergency situation, a magistrate judge may be contacted away from the
courthouse, including at his or her home, for purposes of entertaining a proposed complaint. If
no magistrate judge is available, a district court judge may be contacted away from the
courthouse, including at his or her home, for purposes of entertaining a proposed complaint.
Provenance
- Source
- www.iand.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-18
- Edition
- fed-district-2026-09-19
- Content hash
96bb7f2dc75039ed00b2463cbcce591acd5309ef07c3f423080e7416dbc21dc4
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