Status of Magistrate Judge Positions and Appointments — Judicial Business 2019

During this fiscal year, 89 appointments of full-time magistrate judges were made, including 46 new appointments and 43 reappointments. Six magistrate judges were appointed to part-time positions, four of them by reappointment. In addition, 90 retired magistrate judges were recalled to service under 28 U.S.C. § 636(h).

The following information is provided pursuant to the reporting requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 604(d)(3). The average age of new appointees to full-time magistrate judge positions was 50 years. The average age of new appointees to part-time magistrate judge positions was 52 years. New full-time appointees had been members of the bar for an average of 22 years at the time of appointment; new part-time magistrate judges averaged 22 years of bar membership. Of the new full-time magistrate judges, at the time of their appointments, 25 had been in private practice, 12 had been assistant United States attorneys, 3 had been assistant federal public defenders, 1 had been a full-time United States magistrate judge in another district, 1 had been a state court judge, 1 had been an administrative trademark judge, 1 had been a federal public defender, 1 had been a court unit executive, and 1 had been a president and chief executive officer of a private school.

Through September 2019, the Judicial Conference authorized 549 full-time magistrate judge positions, 29 part-time positions, and 3 combination clerk/magistrate judge positions.

For data on magistrate judge positions, see Table 13.