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19 N. Ky. L. Rev. 99 (1991-1992)
United States Magistrate Judges: Suggestions to Increase the Efficiency of Their Civil Role

handle is hein.journals/nkenlr19 and id is 113 raw text is: UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES: SUGGESTIONS TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF THEIR CIVIL ROLE Michael J. Newman* I. INTRODUCTION Only some lawyers, few law students, and almost none of the public know what United States magistrate judges' are, how and in what respect they differ from federal district judges (or even that they are federal judicial officers), or the nature of their distinct authority.2 This article answers the fundamental question, what is a United States magistrate judge? and examines magis- trate judges' role in civil litigation. To this end, the article is comprised of two parts. Part one reviews magistrates's civil function and expanding civil jurisdiction as evidenced by statute and by application of the consent doctrine. Part two, premised on the idea that magistrate judges are and will foreseeably remain an essential element of district court case resolution, provides suggestions to increase magistrates' judicial efficiency within their role as now defined. * Michael J. Newman is an adjunct faculty member at Salmon P. Chase College of Law and a judicial clerk to the Honorable Jack Sherman, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, at Cincinnati. He is a 1989 cum laude graduate of American University's Washington College of Law. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not of Magistrate Judge Sherman. 1. On December 1, 1990. the name United States magistrate was changed to United States magistrate judge. Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-650, S 321, 104 Stat. 5089, 5117 (1991). 2. These identification problems are likely caused or compounded by the fact that not all attorneys practice in federal court, and that, of those who do, only some appear before magistrates. An additional factor may be that the term magistrate has a different meaning in federal and state court. In some states, for example, magistrates, although empowered to issue warrants and set bond, need not have legal training. See Judge Moran Responds To Article By Non-Lawyer Magistrate Judge, 17 Fed. Magistrate Judges Ass'n Bull. 4 (June 1991) (describing North Carolina law). United States magistrate judges, in contrast, although also authorized to issue arrest warrants, 18 U.S.C. S 3041 (1988). and set bail, 18 U.S.C. S 3141 (1988), must have, among other criteria, at least five years of good standing bar membership prior to appointment. 28 U.S.C.A. S 631(bXl) (West Supp. 1991). 3. Throughout this article, the terms magistrate and magistrate judge are used interchangeably to denote United States magistrate judges.

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