Polk County Justice Center - Des Moines, Iowa

Nicole C.

The most unhelpful, rude people work here. They had zero problem rescheduling my boyfriend’s dates multiple times without giving him notice. Then when we call to ask for a reschedule because something came up, they refuse, say they can’t reschedule, and tough luck guess you just have to pay the fines. They’re greedy and only care about money. Unhelpful. Greedy. Selfish. Rude. Heartless. We’ve already given you so much money for pointless fines. Really sad to see how many others have had this exact same issue. Do better.

Bret D.

I had an issue the day of my trial, called BEFORE MY TRIAL to ask for a reschedule because I couldn’t physically make it to the court house.

They told me “We don’t do that here. Your charges will be finalized and you won’t be able to fight them if you aren’t here today in time for your trial.”

Yet other people have said they drove hours to be at their trial, and due to mistakes at the courthouse they forcibly rescheduled them and wouldn’t compromise. No virtual options. No flexibility on dates.

The judge I met was incredibly nice, but her courtroom assistant (especially) and everyone else I’ve dealt with here are rude, completely unhelpful, and show zero empathy.

Bret D.

Money hungry crooks. Theres no reason they cant offer virtual trials or reschedules. Life happens, vehicles break down, emergencies arise. But if you cant be there on their time, sucks to be you. Pay up or get thrown further down the hole of “Justice”.

Aaron G.

I too would give them a 0 if I could... I wanted to fight a traffic violation, so I drove 5 hours to the court date. The prosecutor was not there, so they had to reschedule the court date. Unfortunately, they were unwilling to do a virtual or talk about a compromise. Each time I called, they either hung up on me or they gave me a bogus phone number to call. Apparently, they like pulling over out-of-State people so they can ticket them, so they can help pay for all of the road construction going on. Maybe they should use the money to clearly mark areas instead of just pulling random people over an fining them. If anyone knows of a course of action I can do, I would be all ears, as I know I did not do what they said I did. The officer even laughed and said they pulled 4 other people over randomly, while he was ticketing me. They are not what you want to see out of a Judicial System.

Reagan F.

Nice building and all but the sheriffs in front are like immature and unprofessional. It’s like walking into a frat party. Wish they were more attentive, doesn’t make me feel safe at all.

James L.

I was there for a dog at large charge... Different story. It just seems to me that animal control can and will write a "dog at large" ticket for anything and everything. It's a GREAT generator of revenue for the city because there is no logical way to say "It was a mistake" "I won't do it again" Big government... Layed out right there... No excuse will work to level the playing field on the charge... Just pay it plus double the actual ticket for all the extras... 2 $105 = $380. & change... I'm on a fixed income. I HAD to beg them to remove the warrant because they set the court date when I couldn't attend and don't answer their phone... Sorry not sorry.

Zach C.

If I could put 0, I would. Minor traffic infraction that I wanted to try and sort out with the prosecuting attorney over a minor equipment violation, and they won't even take the phone call until I plead guilty and go to trial. Absolute insanity.

Ted P.

Nice place to get our legal issues moving.