Federal Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Over Black Hawk County Jail Fees

A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that a lawsuit challenging Black Hawk County’s jail fee collection practices can move forward. The ten-page opinion by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s 2024 dismissal of the case, which allows the case to move forward in federal district court. The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Iowa, Public Justice and other legal groups on behalf of two former inmates.  It alleges people were forced to sign “confessions of judgment” before being released from the Black Hawk County Jail.  Iowa law typically requires a civil court process and judicial review before jail fees can be collected, but Black Hawk County was found to have not followed that procedure.