The Clerk's Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (excluding federal holidays).
The public area in both our Cedar Rapids and Sioux City locations has a computer with complimentary access to PACER for those who wish to search or review bankruptcy and adversary filings but do not wish to sign up for PACER.
Clerk's Office staff are available in person or by phone to assist you with a variety of issues, including but not limited to:
- Questions related to bankruptcy and adversary proceedings
- Locating information on our website
- Navigating CM/ECF (electronic filers only)
- Accessing archived case infomation
Unfortunately, there are limitations to the Clerk's Office staff assistance.
Please be advised that the Clerk's Office staff and the Chambers Staff of the court’s judges are prohibited from giving legal advice. For example, they cannot:
- Explain the meaning of a particular statutory provision or rule
- Give an interpretation of case law
- Explain the result of taking or not taking action in a case
- Help you complete forms, or advise you regarding what is legally required when a form elicits information from you
- Tell you whether jurisdiction is proper in a case
- Tell you whether a complaint properly presents a claim
- Provide advice on the best procedure to accomplish a particular goal
- Apply a rule or statute
- Explain who should receive proper notice or service
The judge in a case cannot give you legal advice or assist you in the case. The judge supervises and administers the entire case and resolves disputes between the parties. The judge must remain impartial.
You cannot engage in "ex parte" communications with the judge (meaning only you are communicating with the judge):
- You cannot contact the judge to have a conversation about the case.
- When you file a paper seeking some form of relief from a judge, you must serve any person who might be adversely affected were the relief granted or who might otherwise be interested in the matter.