In Chicago, the Northern District of Illinois, five former magistrate judges have been promoted to seats on the district court. In New Jersey, eight former magistrate judges have been appointed to the federal district court, including one who is now on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, there has been none. Many members of the bar feel it is about time for a change. Just how extensive the practice of selecting magistrate judges for the district court should become is a subject of ongoing discussion. (The Western and Middle districts of Pennsylvania also have no history of appointing magistrate judges to the federal district court; however because each district has a different political culture and heritage, this article will be confined to the Eastern District.)
Magistrate judges perform all the functions of a district court judge except presiding over felony criminal trials. If all parties to a matter consent, magistrate judges are empowered to handle all facets of a civil case (bench or jury trial) including issuing a final judgment. An appeal from such a final judgment goes directly to the circuit court of appeals. Magistrate Judge Jacob Hart estimates that, considering the high settlement rate of civil cases handled by the district court bench, the magistrate judges of the Eastern District preside over about the same number of actual civil trials as does the district court bench.
