1. A criminal proceeding may be commenced by the filing of a complaint before a
magistrate. When such complaint is made, charging the commission of some designated
public offense in which such magistrate has jurisdiction, and it appears from the complaint
or from affidavits filed with it that there is probable cause to believe an offense has been
committed and a designated person has committed it, the magistrate shall, except as
otherwise provided, issue a warrant for the arrest of such person.
2. If the complaint charges a public offense, the magistrate may issue a citation instead of
a warrant of arrest. The citation shall set forth substantially the nature of the offense and shall
command the person against whom the complaint was made to appear before the magistrate
issuing the citation at a time and place stated in the citation. The magistrate shall prescribe
the manner of service for the citation at the time the citation is issued.
3. The citation may be served in the same manner as an original notice in a civil action.
4. If the person named in the citation is actually served as provided herein and willfully
fails without good cause to appear as commanded by the citation, the person shall be guilty
of a simple misdemeanor and the magistrate may issue a warrant of arrest for the offense
originally charged.
5. If after issuing a citation the magistrate becomes satisfied that the person to whom
such citation has been directed will not appear, the magistrate may at once issue a warrant
of arrest without waiting for the date mentioned in the citation.
[C51, §2822; R60, §4530; C73, §4111, 4185; C97, §5101, 5182; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §13458 –
13460; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §754.1 – 754.3; C79, 81, §804.1]
83 Acts, ch 50, §1, 7; 2016 Acts, ch 1011, §121
Referred to in §708.11, 805.8C(3)(a)\n\nTue Dec 09 21:54:27 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 804 (31, 0)
§804.2, COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIONS — ARREST — DISPOSITIONS OF PRISONERS 2
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
26
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1979–2023 · leading case:
State v. Johnson, 318 N.W.2d 417 (Iowa 1982).
State v. Johnson, 318 N.W.2d 417 (Iowa 1982).
· cites it 8× “§ 804.1, The Code. Council Bluffs police executed the warrant at about 3:00 p.”
State v. Thornton, 300 N.W.2d 94 (Iowa 1981).
· cites it 14× “The Iowa Falls police chief sought the issuance of an arrest warrant by a magistrate, pursuant to section 804.1. For this purpose, a complaint was presented; however, while it recited the statutory violation charged, it did not state any underlying facts to establish probable…”
State of Iowa v. John Penn-Kennedy, 862 N.W.2d 384 (Iowa 2015).
· cites it 3× “” Iowa Code § 804.1 (“A criminal proceeding may be commenced by the filing of a complaint before a magistrate.”
State v. Gathercole, 553 N.W.2d 569 (Iowa 1996).
· cites it 4× “It was not based on a warrant ( Iowa Code § 804.1 ); Transcor was not a peace officer ( Iowa Code § 804.”
State v. Ceron, 573 N.W.2d 587 (Iowa 1997).
· cites it 3× “Iowa Code section 804.1 governs arrests by warrants.”
Munz v. State, 382 N.W.2d 693 (Iowa Ct. App. 1985).
· cites it 4× “Iowa Code section 804.1 (1983) provides that: A criminal proceeding may be commenced by the filing of a complaint before a magistrate.”
State v. Petersen, 678 N.W.2d 611 (Iowa 2004).
· cites it 2× “Iowa Code § 804.1 ; State v. Henderson, 268 N.”
State v. Thongvanh, 398 N.W.2d 182 (Iowa Ct. App. 1986).
· cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 804.1 (1985). The court in Johnson concluded that the filing of a complaint and the issuance of a warrant will create a formal charge against a defendant, when the circumstances show a commitment to prosecute.”
State v. Nelsen, 390 N.W.2d 589 (Iowa 1986).
· cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 804.1 (1983); 1 see Jackson, 380 N.”
State v. Jackson, 380 N.W.2d 420 (Iowa 1986).
· cites it 2× “In Johnson this court nevertheless held that the right to counsel attached upon the filing of a complaint by the county attorney followed by the issuance of a warrant and the arrest of defendant.”
— Iowa Code § 804.1(1) — 1 case
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.