Job Details for Magistrate Judge
| Court Name/Organization | North Carolina Middle District Court |
| Overview of the Position | The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time U.S. magistrate judge for the Middle District of North Carolina at Durham to fill a vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of the Honorable Joe L. Webster in February 2026. |
| Location | Durham, NC |
| Opening and Closing Dates | 03/12/2025 - 04/30/2025 |
| Appointment Type | Permanent |
| Salary | Not specified |
| Link to Job Announcement | |
Position Description
The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging. The duties and responsibilities of a magistrate judge in this court include:
- Conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases
- Trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases
- Conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district court
- Trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants.
Magistrate judges in this district also have court governance responsibilities. They are expected to participate in the larger legal and judicial communities and, as time permits, in civics education for the public, including students. The basic authority of a U.S. magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.
Qualifications
To be qualified for appointment, an applicant must
- 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,
- Have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutes authorized);
- Be competent to perform all the duties of the office, of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature, committed to equal justice under the law, in good health, patient, courteous, and capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
- Be less than 70 years old; and
- Not be related to a judge of the district court.
Miscellaneous
The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging. The duties and responsibilities of a magistrate judge in this court include:
- Conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases
- Trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases
- Conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district court
- Trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants.
Magistrate judges in this district also have court governance responsibilities. They are expected to participate in the larger legal and judicial communities and, as time permits, in civics education for the public, including students. The basic authority of a U.S. magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.
Application Info
Application forms and more information on the magistrate judge position in this court may be obtained from Larry Cunningham, Clerk of Court, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, 324 West Market Street, Greensboro, North Carolina, 27401. The application form is also available on the court’s website at www.ncmd.uscourts.gov. Applications must be submitted by applicants personally and must be received by April 30, 2025. Applications must be submitted as a single PDF to clerk@ncmd.uscourts.gov with the subject line “Magistrate Judge Application.” Only electronic applications will be accepted.
All applications will be kept confidential, unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications will be examined only by members of the merit selection panel and the judges of the district court. The panel’s deliberations will remain confidential.
The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.