Memo to Court: A Man's Got To Know His Limitations

State v. Erdman, No. 04-1661 (Iowa Feb. 2, 2007).

Erdman was charged with forgery and bonded out in Story County. Jailed in Marion County, Erdman could not appear and the district associate court ordered her bond forfeited in the amount of $26,500.

The bail bondsmen filed an appeal, alleging that an associate district court could not enter judgment in an amount exceeding $10,000. The trial court refused the bail bondsmen.

The Supreme Court reversed and vacated, holding that district associate courts are limited in their subject matter jurisdiction to forfeiting bonds of less than $10,000.