Part Time U.S. Magistrate Judge
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The United States Judicial Conference has authorized the appointment of one part-time United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. In addition to the part time position in Santa Barbara, the United States District Court for the Central District of California is authorized to hold court in Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Ana. The District Court may assign a Magistrate Judge to hold court in any of these locations and may reassign a Magistrate Judge from one location in the District to another as workload may require. It is anticipated that the individual selected to fill the position in Santa Barbara will assume office between December 2013 and January 2014.
A Merit Selection Panel, comprised of attorneys and other members of the community, will review all applications and recommend to the District Judges, in confidence, those persons it considers best qualified. All applications are kept confidential, unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications are examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and Judges of the District Court. The Panel’s deliberations remain confidential. Appointments are subject to District Court review and approval of FBI full-field investigation and IRS tax checks.
A full range of benefits is offered including, but not limited to: the Federal Employment Retirement System; health, life, disability, and long-term care insurance. The term of office for a part time magistrate judge is four years. Magistrate Judges may be reappointed to subsequent four-year terms.
Duties of the position include presiding over criminal proceedings, such as misdemeanor arraignment and trial calendars; review and consideration of criminal documents including search warrants and criminal complaints; preparing Reports and Recommendations in habeas proceedings, and other duties as deemed necessary by the Court. These duties are set forth in Central District General Orders 05-07 and 06-01, available on the Court’s website at: www.cacd.uscourts.gov. Basic jurisdiction of United States Magistrate Judges is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.
To be qualified for appointment, an applicant must:
1) Be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state, District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or Northern Mariana Islands, Territory of Guam, or Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in active law practice for at least five years. The Court may consider, as substitute experience for the active practice of law, any combination of the following: state judicial officer; federal judicial officer; attorney for federal or state agencies; law clerk to any judicial officer (limited to two years); and other legal experience considered suitable by a majority of the court;
2) Be competent to perform all duties of the office; of good moral character; emotionally stable and mature; committed to equal justice under law; in good health; patient; courteous; and capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
3) Be less than seventy years old;
4) Not be related to a District Judge of the appointing court at time of initial appointment, as specified in 28 U.S.C. § 458; and
5) Be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States currently seeking citizenship or intending to become a citizen immediately following meeting the eligibility requirements.
Electronic versions of the application form are available on the U.S. District Court Web Site: www.cacd.uscourts.gov. Hard copy application forms may be obtained from: Human Resources Department, United States District Court, 312 N. Spring Street, Room 535, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Phone (213) 894-2012.
An original and thirty (30) hard copies of the Court’s U.S. Magistrate Judge application form and an original writing sample, no more than 20 pages, must be received by the Human Resources Department no later than 4:30 noon PDT May 23, 2013. A postmark will not be accepted in lieu of actual receipt of the application.
Applicants who apply for more than one currently advertised position must submit duplicate sets of applications for each position.
Applicants are advised that the Magistrate Judge Application Form has been revised effective February 2013. Previous application forms are void. Previous application forms should not be submitted and will not be considered.