Federal Magistrates Act of 1968

The Federal Magistrate Act of 1968 was legislation that was approved by Congress that created the position of federal magistrate judge.^[1]

Purpose[edit]

In 1968, Congress approved a law which was signed by President Lyndon Johnson that created the position of federal magistrate judge. The position replaced United States commissioners. The act was the first legislation since the Evarts Act of 1891 that expanded the judiciary.^[1]

The legislation was designed to promote uniformity in the federal judiciary. During the mid-twentieth century, the federal commissioner system continued to vary greatly from one district to another. Also, federal commissioners were compensated with a fee per case system, which did not generate enough revenue.^[1]

Most commissioners under the old system were part-time judicial officers. There were no laws that required commissioners to be licensed attorneys. The 1968 law was designed to change the requirements of a federal magistrate.

Magistrate judge[edit]

The law authorized the Judicial Conference of the United States to determine the number of federal magistrate judges authorized in each judicial district. Also, the respective district judges were authorized to appoint magistrate judges.^[1]

The position replaced the position of federal court commissioner which was in existence for more than 100 years. Magistrates were given the same duties as a court commissioner of a state-level court. These duties included the issue of warrants granted by the court to federal authorities, conduct initial and preliminary hearings, and establish bail in criminal cases.^[1]

District judges were also granted to assign other duties for magistrates. These duties included pretrial conferences and discovery proceedings and applications for post-trial relief such as collecting judgments in civil cases and restitution in criminal cases. Magistrates were granted the authority to conduct trials for people charged of misdemeanors and sentence offenders convicted of misdemeanors. The law also granted defendants the right to choose a trial with a district judge or to appeal the magistrate’s ruling to an Article III judge.^[1]

Result[edit]

The demand for magistrates came after the Judicial Conference of the United States and Congress recommended broad reform of the federal court commissioner system. A subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1965 held various hearings on the issue. The subcommittee hearings were vital towards drafting the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968.

The law approved by Congress also replaced the salary system for magistrates. A salary schedule replaced the fee per case system. The law required all magistrates to be admitted members of the bar association in their respective states. All full-time magistrates serve a term of eight years while part-time magistrates serve a four-year term. The respective courts have the authority to re-appoint a magistrate at the end of their term.^[1]

Legislation in 1979 and 1990 expanded powers of federal magistrates, which included presiding in civil cases.^[1]

See also[edit]

• Notable federal judicial legislation

External links[edit]

• Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes[edit]

	v • e Notable federal judicial legislation
Landmark federal legislation	Article III of 1787 • Judiciary Act of 1789 • Judiciary Act of 1801 • Judiciary Act of 1802 • Jurisdiction and Removal Act of 1875 • Judicial Code of 1911 • Conference of Senior Circuit Judges Act of 1922 • Judges Act of 1925 • Administrative Office Act of 1939 • Federal Judicial Center Act of 1967 • Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 • Federal Magistrates Act of 1979 • Customs Court Act of 1980 • Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980 • The Court Security Improvement Act of 2007 • United States court reorganization legislation • United States Bankruptcy Courts legislation
Proposed federal legislation	Inspector General Act of 2009 • State Court Interpreters Grant Program Act of 2009 • Federal Judgeship Act of 2009