Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 602.4201 (2026)

Rules governing actions and proceedings

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

1. The supreme court may prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state, for the purposes of simplifying the proceedings and promoting the speedy determination of litigation upon its merits.

2. Rules of appellate procedure relating to appeals to and review by the supreme court, discretionary review by the courts of small claims actions, review by the supreme court by writ of certiorari to inferior courts, appeal to or review by the court of appeals of a matter transferred to that court by the supreme court, and further review by the supreme court of decisions of the court of appeals, shall be known as “Rules of Appellate Procedure”, and shall be published as provided in section 2B.5B.

3. The following rules are subject to section 602.4202:

a. Rules of civil procedure.

b. Rules of criminal procedure.

c. Rules of evidence.

d. Rules of appellate procedure 6.101 through 6.105, 6.601 through 6.603, and 6.907.

e. Rules of probate procedure.

f. Juvenile procedure.

g. Involuntary hospitalization of mentally ill.

h. Involuntary commitment or treatment of persons with a substance use disorder. 83 Acts, ch 186, §5201, 10201; 92 Acts, ch 1163, §110; 98 Acts, ch 1115, §8, 21; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §165; 2011 Acts, ch 121, §60, 62; 2012 Acts, ch 1023, §83, 158; 2015 Acts, ch 29, §104; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1264 Referred to in §125.94, 229.40, 232.7A, 602.4202, 633.18 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 1985–2026 · leading case: Teri Root v. Talton Toney, 841 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa 2013).
Teri Root v. Talton Toney, 841 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 8× “See Iowa Code § 602.4201 (3)(d). The legislature’s role in our rule-making process is governed by Iowa Code section 602.”
State v. Liddell, 672 N.W.2d 805 (Iowa 2003). · cites it 4× “See Iowa Code §§ 602.4201 , 602.4202. A brief review of the history of rule 2.”
State v. DeJesus, 953 A.2d 45 (Conn. 2008). · cites it 2× “Rev.Code § 2.04.190 (West 2004); see also Mass.”
Concerned Citizens of Se. Polk Sch. Dist. & Jessman Smith v. City Dev. Bd. of the State of Iowa, 872 N.W.2d 399 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 4× “See Iowa Code §§ 602.4201 (3), .4202(1)–(2). These include all “[r]ules of civil procedure” and several rules of appellate procedure, including those relating to the time for filing a notice of appeal.”
Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Ackerman, 786 N.W.2d 491 (Iowa 2010). · cites it 2× “)); see also Iowa Code § 602.4201 (stating purposes of rules of procedure are to simplify the proceedings and promote the speedy determination of litigation).”
Butler v. Woodbury Cnty., 547 N.W.2d 17 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 602.4201 (1993). Such rulemaking authority, however, is not exercised in conjunction with case decision-making.”
Teleconnect Co. v. Iowa State Com. Com'n, 366 N.W.2d 511 (Iowa 1985). “See Iowa Code sections 602.4201 and 602.4202 (Supp.1983).”
Marleny Rivas v. Derek Brownell & Lindsey Wessel (Iowa 2025). · cites it 9× “2d 443, 447 (Iowa 2008), while the supreme court has the power to prescribe procedural rules, Iowa Code § 602.4201 . 10 But the attempted distinction between statutes and procedural rules loses some force when one considers the legislature’s role in adopting procedural rules.”
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). · cites it 7× “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). · cites it 7× “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
State of Iowa v. Timothy Michael Basquin (Iowa 2022). · cites it 7× “” Iowa Code § 602.4201 (1); see Thompson, 954 N.”
State of Iowa v. Timothy Michael Basquin (Iowa 2022). · cites it 7× “” Iowa Code § 602.4201 (1); see Thompson, 954 N.”
— Iowa Code § 602.4201(1) — 3 cases
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
Marleny Rivas v. Derek Brownell & Lindsey Wessel (Iowa 2025). “2d 443, 447 (Iowa 2008), while the supreme court has the power to prescribe procedural rules, Iowa Code § 602.4201 . 10 But the attempted distinction between statutes and procedural rules loses some force when one considers the legislature’s role in adopting procedural rules.”
— Iowa Code § 602.4201(3) — 4 cases
A.b., A.C. & A.C. (Iowa 2021).
A.b., A.C. & A.C. (Iowa 2021).
State of Iowa v. Timothy Michael Basquin (Iowa 2022). “” Iowa Code § 602.4201 (1); see Thompson, 954 N.”
State of Iowa v. Timothy Michael Basquin (Iowa 2022). “” Iowa Code § 602.4201 (1); see Thompson, 954 N.”
— Iowa Code § 602.4201(3)(a) — 3 cases
Concerned Citizens of Se. Polk Sch. Dist. & Jessman Smith v. City Dev. Bd. of the State of Iowa, 872 N.W.2d 399 (Iowa 2015). “See Iowa Code §§ 602.4201 (3), .4202(1)–(2). These include all “[r]ules of civil procedure” and several rules of appellate procedure, including those relating to the time for filing a notice of appeal.”
— Iowa Code § 602.4201(3)(cZ) — 1 case
Teri Root v. Talton Toney, 841 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa 2013). “See Iowa Code § 602.4201 (3)(d). The legislature’s role in our rule-making process is governed by Iowa Code section 602.”
— Iowa Code § 602.4201(3)(d) — 3 cases
Teri Root v. Talton Toney, 841 N.W.2d 83 (Iowa 2013). “See Iowa Code § 602.4201 (3)(d). The legislature’s role in our rule-making process is governed by Iowa Code section 602.”
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
State of Iowa v. Howard J. Thompson (Iowa 2021). “art. V, § 4. The judicial department has statutory authority to “prescribe all rules of pleading, practice, evidence, and procedure, and the forms of process, writs, and notices, for all proceedings in all courts of this state.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.