TITLE SIX — SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS; SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS; SUPPLEMENTARY RULES
Rule 47. Special Magistrates
The Magistrate Court. The Superior Court of the State of Ridgeway contains the magistrate court, which consists of four (4) magistrate judges, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.201 provides. Upon a vacancy the Governor shall appoint a magistrate judge with the advice and consent of the State Senate, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.202 and Const. art. V § 7 provide. A magistrate judge holds office during good behavior for the term of the appointment, as Const. art. V § 8 provides.
Terms Defined. “Special magistrate” and “magistrate,” wherever used in these rules, mean a magistrate judge of the magistrate court. A magistrate judge is a state judge within the meaning of 6 R. Stat. § 111.018 and is a judge within the meaning of Rule 2(2)(cc).
Powers Exercised Without Assignment. A magistrate judge, as a state judge and without any assignment or referral under subdivision (4), may:
Conduct a first appearance and a determination of probable cause for detention, as Rule 3.1 and 6 R. Stat. § 131.204 provide, including the order of release and expungement Rule 3.1(7)(b) requires where probable cause is not found;
Arraign a defendant upon charges filed after a first appearance and receive the defendant’s plea, as Rule 7.2(3) and 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b)(a)(2)–(3) provide;
Conduct a preliminary hearing following such an arraignment and determine that probable cause exists to bind a count over for trial, as Rule 7.2 and 6 R. Stat. § 131.204(b) provide, subject to Rule 7.2(5)(c) as to a discharge. A magistrate judge acting under this paragraph and under paragraphs (c) and (e) acts in the duty court workflow, and subdivision (4)(b) does not condition that action upon the recording of an assignment;
Administer oaths and affirmations and take affidavits;
Issue an expungement, as Rule 38(3) provides; and
Assignment by a Superior Court Judge. A superior court judge may assign a magistrate judge to try a proceeding before the court, or to conduct any or all pre-trial proceedings in a proceeding before the court, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 provides.
Form. An assignment shall be by order, which shall identify the case by case number, state whether the assignment is to try the proceeding or to conduct pre-trial proceedings, state which pre-trial proceedings are assigned, and state any matter specifically referred under subdivision (6).
Entry. The order of assignment shall be entered upon the docket, and the assignment shall be recorded in the electronic filing system. Until it is so recorded the magistrate judge has no access to the record of the case and no power to act in it.
Withdrawal. The assigning judge may withdraw or modify an assignment at any time by order entered upon the docket, and shall record the withdrawal in the electronic filing system.
Non-Dispositive Matters. Unless otherwise specifically referred by the superior court judge, a magistrate judge assigned to conduct pre-trial proceedings shall hear and determine only non-dispositive matters, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 provides. Non-dispositive matters include:
Discovery motions, orders, and protective orders under Rule 14, and the amendment of discovery orders;
The requirement of a memorandum of law as a condition precedent to a hearing, as Rule 13(a)(4) provides;
Bills of particulars under Rule 13(b);
The conduct of a preliminary hearing under Rule 7.2, and the determination that probable cause exists to bind charges over for trial, as Rule 7.2(5)(b) provides; and
Any other matter the determination of which does not terminate a charge, a defense, or the proceeding.
Dispositive Matters. A magistrate judge shall not hear, determine, or enter any order on a dispositive matter unless the superior court judge refers the matter to the magistrate judge for proposed findings, a report, and recommendations, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 provides. Dispositive matters include:
A motion to dismiss under Rule 13(c);
A judgment of criminal contempt entered upon notice and hearing under Rule 43(11);
The discharge of a defendant upon a count at a preliminary hearing under Rule 7.2(8)(b); and
Any other determination which terminates a charge, a defense, or the proceeding.
Report and Recommendation. Any report and recommendation issued by a magistrate judge shall have no effect unless adopted, modified, or rejected by the superior court judge, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 provides.
Form. A report shall state the matter referred, the proceedings held, the proposed findings of fact, the conclusions of law, and the recommended disposition.
Entry and Service. The report shall be entered upon the docket and served upon every party.
No Interim Effect. No right is determined, no charge is disposed of, and no sentence is imposed by a report. A report is not an order and is not enforceable.
Trial by a Magistrate Judge. A magistrate judge assigned to try a proceeding presides over the trial and exercises the powers of the trial judge as to the conduct of the trial, the admission of evidence, the examination of witnesses, and the maintenance of order. The magistrate judge shall not determine a dispositive matter arising in that trial, including the verdict or finding, the judgment, and the sentence, except upon a specific referral under subdivision (6), in which case the determination is submitted as proposed findings, a report, and recommendations under subdivision (7).
Limitations upon Assignment. No assignment or referral shall be made in civil proceedings in which the State is a party, nor in administrative proceedings arising under Title IV, Subtitle I, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.203 provides. That limitation is confined to civil and administrative proceedings and does not limit the assignment of a magistrate judge in a criminal proceeding.
Practice of Law. A magistrate judge shall not be prohibited from practising law in private or on behalf of the government, and no rule shall be promulgated to prevent such practice, as 3 R. Stat. § 131.204 provides. Nothing in these rules prohibits, conditions, or penalizes the practice of law by a magistrate judge.
Disqualification. A magistrate judge shall not preside over, and shall not exercise any power under these rules in, a matter in which the magistrate judge has appeared as counsel, in which a client or former client of the magistrate judge is a party or a witness, in which the magistrate judge or the magistrate judge’s firm has an interest, or in which the magistrate judge’s impartiality would reasonably be questioned under the judicial canons prescribed under 3 R. Stat. § 121.107.
Disclosure. A magistrate judge shall disclose on the record any representation, past or present, which a reasonable person might consider material to the magistrate judge’s impartiality in the matter.
Procedure. Rule 39(8) governs a motion for disqualification and its determination. This subdivision governs the exercise of judicial power only and does not restrict the practice of law.
Review by a Superior Court Judge.
Non-Dispositive Orders. A party aggrieved by an order of a magistrate judge upon a non-dispositive matter may file objections with the superior court judge within forty-eight (48) hours of the entry of the order. The objections shall identify the portions of the order objected to and shall state the grounds with particularity. Any other party may respond within twenty-four (24) hours. The superior court judge shall set aside or modify any portion of the order found to be clearly erroneous or contrary to law.
Reports and Recommendations. A party may file objections to a report and recommendation within forty-eight (48) hours of its entry. The superior court judge shall determine de novo those portions of the report to which objection is made, and may adopt, modify, or reject the report in whole or in part, receive further evidence, or recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions. A portion of a report to which no objection is made may be adopted without further review.
Waiver. A failure to object within the period prescribed waives review of the matter under this subdivision, except that the superior court judge may excuse the failure for good cause and may review any matter on the judge’s own initiative.
Effect Pending Review. An order of a magistrate judge upon a non-dispositive matter remains in force pending review unless the magistrate judge or the superior court judge orders otherwise.
Record. Proceedings before a magistrate judge are conducted in the proceeding communications for the case. Every order, report, and recommendation of a magistrate judge is entered upon the docket of that case and is served as any other order is served.
Contempt Before a Magistrate Judge. A magistrate judge may punish a direct criminal contempt summarily, within the limits of Rule 43(8). Where the contempt must be prosecuted upon notice and hearing under Rule 43(10), or where the punishment warranted exceeds the limits of Rule 43(8)(b), the magistrate judge shall certify the facts to a superior court judge, who shall proceed under Rule 43(11).