Appointments of Magistrate Judges - Judicial Business 2012
This year, 90 appointments of full-time magistrate judges were made—42 new appointments and 48 reappointments. Of the 42 new appointments, 2 were for newly created positions. Eleven individuals were appointed to part-time magistrate judge positions, 9 of them by reappointment. In addition, 66 retired magistrate judges were recalled to service under 28 U.S.C. § 636(h), with 1 of them serving on a recall basis in more than one district.
| Positions Authorized | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total1 | Full Time | Part Time | Combination2 | Recalled Judges |
| 2008 | 559 | 514 | 43 | 2 | 38 |
| 2009 | 567 | 523 | 41 | 3 | 49 |
| 2010 | 571 | 527 | 41 | 3 | 67 |
| 2011 | 574 | 531 | 40 | 3 | 70 |
| 2012 | 573 | 531 | 39 | 3 | 6 |
1Total does not include recalled magistrate judges.
2According to 28 U.S.C. § 631(c), with the approval of the Judicial Conference, a clerk or deputy clerk of a court may be appointed as a part-time magistrate judge.
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 62 years. New full-time appointees had on average 22 years of bar membership; new part-time magistrate judges had on average 28 years of bar membership. At the time of their appointments, 21 new full-time appointees had been in private practice, 6 had been assistant U.S. attorneys, 3 had been law clerks, 2 had been state court judges, 2 had been immigration judges, 2 had been part-time federal magistrate judges, 2 had been city attorneys, and 1 each had been a corporate attorney, a federal public defender, an assistant federal public defender, and a U.S. attorney.
For 2012, the Judicial Conference had authorized 531 full-time magistrate judge positions, 39 part-time magistrate judge positions, and 3 combination clerk/magistrate judge positions.
For data on magistrate judge positions authorized by the Judicial Conference since 2008, see Table 13.