Federal Magistrates Act of 1979

The Federal Magistrates Act of 1979 was the first change in the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968 that expanded the authority and power of federal magistrate judges.

Purpose

The new law came after the first legislation passed in 1968 gave the district courts very broad power in granting "additional duties" which was considered a loophole in the law. Because there was no defined interpretation of the statute, this soon led to many legal battles in the federal court of appeals over the application of the statute.

In 1974, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that magistrates could not conduct evidentiary hearings in habeas corpus actions. In response to the 1974 ruling, Congress responded in 1976 with an law that further defined expanded authority for magistrates and granted them the power to conduct habeas proceedings.

The Act of 1979 expanded on the 1976 legislation to again expand the authority of federal magistrates by granting them the power to consent jurisdiction, which gave magistrates the authority to conduct civil trials as long as the parties consented. Magistrates were also allowed under the 1979 law to preside over all misdemeanor trials as long as the defendants waived their right to a trial before a federal district judge. The 1979 law created merit selection panels to assist the chief judges of the federal district courts in the appointment of magistrates.

See also

• Federal Magistrates Act of 1968

External links

• Federal Magistrate Judges Association, "Evolution of the Magistrates"