United States Magistrate Judge
Printer-friendly version
The United States Judicial Conference has authorized the appointment of one full-time United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of California. 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 the position will be located in Los Angeles.
A Merit Selection Panel comprised of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applications and recommend to the Magistrate Judges Committee those persons it considers best qualified. All applications are kept confidential unless the applicant consents to disclosure. Applications are examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and Judges of the Court. The Merit Selection Panel is charged with the responsibility to make an affirmative effort to identify and give due consideration to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, age (40 and over), gender, religion, national origin, or disability.
Appointments are subject to District Court review, approval of FBI full-field investigation and IRS tax checks. The individual selected must comply with the financial disclosure requirements pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-521, 90 Stat. 1824 (1978) (codified at 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 101-111) as implemented by the Judicial Conference of the United States.
A full range of benefits is offered including, but not limited to, the Judicial Retirement System and health, life, dental, vision, and long-term care insurance. The term of office is eight years. Magistrate Judges may be reappointed to subsequent eight-year terms.
The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging. Magistrate Judges conduct pretrial proceedings in civil and criminal cases, including law and motion matters, settlement conferences, initial appearances, and bail hearings. Magistrate Judges also preside over jury and court trials in civil cases with the consent of the parties as well as trials and dispositions of misdemeanor cases. These duties are more fully set forth in Central District General Orders 05-07 and 06-01, available on the Court’s website at: www.cacd.uscourts.gov. The basic authority of a United States Magistrate Judge 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, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years. However, for positions in the Central District, qualified applicants generally have ten or more years of experience practicing in federal court.
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; be of good moral character; emotionally stable and mature; committed to equal justice under the law; in good health; patient and courteous; and capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
(3) Be less than seventy years old;
(4) Not be related to a judge of the district court at the 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 as soon as eligibility requirements have been met.
HOW TO APPLY
Application packets are to be submitted via email to: mjrecruit-LA@cacd.uscourts.gov. Attached documents must be submitted in PDF format. In your submission, refer to: Vacancy Number 24-02: U.S. Magistrate Judge. Application packets must include:
- A completed U. S. Magistrate Judge Application (visit the court’s website at www.cacd.uscourts.gov to download the job application).
- A writing sample no more than 20 pages in length.
The Federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer