The current term of office of United States Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson is due to expire January 11, 2024. The United States District Court is establishing a Merit Selection Panel to consider the reappointment of Magistrate Judge Richardson to a new eight-year term.

The duties of a magistrate judge include (1) conducting preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; (2) conducting various pretrial and evidentiary proceedings in civil cases on delegation from the District Judges; (3) presiding at the trial of civil cases on delegation from the District Judges with consent of the litigants; and (4) handling misdemeanor cases on delegation from the District Judges.