# Magistrate or magistrate judge **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242 "2005-03-25T19:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/1 "2005-03-25T19:41:17Z")
In the United States, the title “magistrate judge” usually indicates a low-level jurist in a federal district court, someone who does not officially hold the office of a judge by appointment by the president. A magistrate judge is usually a civil servant (similar to an “administrative law judge” or a “hearing examiner”) who has been appointed to his post by an actual judge and is treated as a kind of “assistant judge.” I think that most magistrate judge’s decisions must be ratified or adopted by a real judge before they are enforcible. However, from years of reading English literature, I get the impression that the office of “magistrate” in England is a pretty lofty and respected post. What’s the situation? Is a magistrate a powerful and feared jurist or a lowly civil servant? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/2 "2005-03-25T23:26:08Z")
One of my clients is a magistrate, and a friend audits the Magistrates Courts. The term magistrate has two uses: a specific use for a lay citizen who presides (usually as a group of three) over a court which tries lesser offences and a generic term, less used now, for someone in charge of a law court, from the most junior magistrates’ court to the most senior law lord. See [http://www.dca.gov.uk/magist/faqs.htm](http://www.dca.gov.uk/magist/faqs.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/3 "2005-03-28T14:43:57Z")
So although it can be used generally to refer to a high-ranking jurist, it never specifies a senior judge? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/4 "2005-03-28T17:33:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > So although it can be used generally to refer to a high-ranking jurist, it never specifies a senior judge? Well, you can have a presiding magistrate and a junior magistrate. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘a high-ranking jurist’. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/5 "2005-03-28T18:03:49Z")
U.S. magistrate judge is a judicial officer of the district court and is appointed by majority vote of the active district judges of the court to exercise jurisdiction over matters assigned by statute as well as those delegated by the district judges. The number of magistrate judge positions is determined by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on recommendations of the respective district courts, the judicial councils of the circuits, and the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years. Duties assigned to magistrate judges by district court judges may vary considerably from court to court. [http://www.uscourts.gov/faq.html](http://www.uscourts.gov/faq.html) United States Magistrate Judges are not Article III Judges and lack lifetime tenure. They typically manage pretrial proceedings in civil and criminal cases. Their decisions are subject to review by District Judges. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/6 "2005-03-28T18:15:50Z")
I think I more or less summarized this in my OP. I am asking about all the uses of the term “magistrate” _except_ as used in U.S. district courts. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/7 "2005-03-28T18:18:57Z")
Never mind. . . ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/8 "2005-03-28T18:30:36Z")
This is the low-down on the role of a magistrate in the UK. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/becomingamagistrate.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/becomingamagistrate.shtml) There are also stipendiary magistrates who are qualified lawyers and (as the name implies) are paid. They act on their own in court , not on a panel of three and are most commonly found in London. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/9 "2005-03-28T18:34:30Z")
I forgot to add that in most magistrate’s courts there is no jury. That is why there are three “judges” sitting on the bench. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/10 "2005-03-28T18:36:34Z")
As has been noted, the term in the U.S. district court’s is “magistrate judge” rather than just “magistrate.” Would this sound redundant or otherwise strange in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/11 "2005-03-28T18:43:37Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > As has been noted, the term in the U.S. district court’s is “magistrate judge” rather than just “magistrate.” Would this sound redundant or otherwise strange in Britain? Yes , they are just called magistrates and magistrate’s courts. The term Judge is always reserved for the courts where there is trial by Jury and the person presiding is a fully qualified lawyer. Judges are appointed from the ranks of professional barristers. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/12 "2005-03-28T18:45:06Z")
I’d be interested in knowing the uses beyond the U.S. Federal courts and the U.K. (I presume that’s referencing England/Wales; does Scotland have magistrates?) Are there magistrates in Australia or its states or New Zealand? Canada or provinces? Which states have magistrates and what do they do there? New York does not use the term magistrate except as a loose informal synonym for judge or justice. In North Carolina, a magistrate is the “judge on call” who handles arraignments and the setting of bail, but AFAIK can never take a case to terminer. As with the Federal system, he acts as an adjunct to the trial judges, relieving them of procedural work. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/13 "2005-03-28T18:53:39Z")
Scotland does have magistrates , but they are called _Justices of the Peace_ and sit in _District Courts_, but I think their role is the same. So they try petty crimes which are not considered serious enough to go to the\* Sheriff’s Court\* In Scotland the maximum punishment that a District court can impose is a fine of £2,500 or 60 days in custody. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/14 "2005-03-28T19:27:55Z")
In Georgia, the county Magistrate Court serves as the “small claims” court (disputes up to $15,000.00). Rulings of law and findings of fact are made by the Magistrate Judge, acting without a jury. Either party may appeal the decision of the Magistrate Judge to a higher court and seek a _de novo_ trial. Magistrates also handle dispossessory proceedings. In the criminal law context, Magistrate Judges have replaced “Justices of the Peace.” They hear misdemeanor criminal cases (except where a jury trial has been demanded), violations of county ordinances, and applications for arrest warrants and search warrants. Magistrate Court is often a training ground for young jurists. A farm system, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/15 "2005-03-28T20:04:24Z")
Another point that has to be made about Magistrate’s courts in the UK is that anyone can elect to be tried by jury in a higher court but , for minor crimes and offences, this just isn’t worth the waste time of expense on the part of the defendant. So most people will be happy for their case to be heard in the lower court. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/16 "2005-03-28T20:06:05Z")
Many states in the US provide for magistrates. These are not magistrate judges, as the federal appointments are, but just magistrates, and usually they do not have to be lawyers or, in some states, even have a college degree. The provisions in SC are as follows: [http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result\_pos=0&keyval=364&printornot=N](http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result_pos=0&keyval=364&printornot=N) > [@](#): > > B)(1) No person is eligible to hold the office of magistrate who is not at the time of his appointment a citizen of the United States and of this State, and who has not been a resident of this State for at least five years, has not attained the age of twenty-one years upon his appointment, and has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent educational training as recognized by the State Department of Education. > > (2) Notwithstanding the educational qualifications required in item (1): > > (a) On and after July 1, 2001, no person is eligible for an initial appointment to hold the office of magistrate who (i) is not at the time of his appointment a citizen of the United States and of this State, (ii) has not been a resident of this State for at least five years, (iii) has not attained the age of twenty-one years upon his appointment, and (iv) has not received a two-year associate degree. > > (b) On and after July 1, 2005, no person is eligible for an initial appointment to hold the office of magistrate who (i) is not at the time of his appointment a citizen of the United States and of this State, (ii) has not been a resident of this State for at least five years, (iii) has not attained the age of twenty-one years upon his appointment, and (iv) has not received a four-year baccalaureate degree. So it wasn’t until last year that SC require a college degree for this position. However, if the magistrate is not a lawyer, the following provisions apply: > [@](#): > > SECTION 22-1-16. Trial observation requirement for new magistrates who are not attorneys. [SC ST SEC 22-1-16] > > (A) A magistrate whose initial appointment begins on or after July 1, 2001, and who is not an attorney licensed in this State at the time of his initial appointment may not try a case until a certificate is filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court stating that the magistrate has observed ten trials. The certificate must state the name of the proceeding, the dates and the tribunals involved, and must be attested to by the judge conducting the proceeding. > > (B) The required trial experiences must include the following: > > (1) four criminal cases in a magistrates court, two of which must be in a magistrates court where he will not preside; > > (2) four civil cases in a magistrates court, two of which must be in a magistrates court where he will not preside; > > (3) one criminal jury trial in circuit court; and > > (4) one civil jury trial in circuit court. > > © The trial observations may be undertaken and completed any time after a person has been nominated by the senatorial delegation for the position of magistrate. SC magistrates have jurisdiction in some civil and criminal cases, as delineated in the statutes: [http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result\_pos=0&keyval=366&printornot=N](http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result_pos=0&keyval=366&printornot=N) and [http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result\_pos=0&keyval=367&printornot=N](http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/query2003.exe?first=DOC&querytext=magistrate&category=Code&conid=1294174&result_pos=0&keyval=367&printornot=N) ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/17 "2005-03-28T20:07:09Z")
I meant to say " wast of time \*\*or \*\*expense" :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/18 "2005-03-28T20:09:57Z")
> [@Rayne Man](#): > > I meant to say " wast of time \*\*or \*\*expense" :smack: or even “waste of time or expense”. I think I am going to fix myself a stiff drink. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/19 "2005-03-28T21:35:44Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Many states in the US provide for magistrates. These are not magistrate judges, as the federal appointments are, but just magistrates… In my experience, they may be referred to either as “magistrates” or as “magistrate court judges.” Georgia’s statutes use the terms interchangeably. [In this code section](http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=15-10-7) both terms are used: > [@](#): > > There is created a council of magistrate court judges to be known as the ‘Council of Magistrate Court Judges.’ The council shall be composed of the chief magistrates, magistrates, and senior magistrates of the magistrate courts of this state. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242/20 "2005-03-29T12:41:24Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > …from years of reading English literature, I get the impression that the office of “magistrate” in England is a pretty lofty and respected post. Older literary references will give an outdated impression of its status, as the nature of the position in England has changed over the centuries. Originally justices of the peace were selected from the leading landowners in a county. In time therefore it came to be seen as one indication, sometimes the indication, as to who formed that county’s social elite. As there was never any requirement for JPs to perform most of their duties, some sought the position simply to show that they were part of that elite. Having said that, there were always others who recognised that performing the unpaid duties did increase their local influence, not least because, until the local government reforms of the nineteenth century, they also carried out many of the main functions of county administration. Since the nineteenth century there has been a gradual shift in the type of persons appointed. There is still a sort of sense that they include the most prominent local figures, as long-serving local government councillors are one of the groups most likely to get appointed, but the main criteria is really a willingness to volunteer. Few would now regard it as much of an honour, more as a form of public service. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magistrate-or-magistrate-judge/296242.md?page=2)