Status of Magistrate Judge Positions and Appointments — Judicial Business 2023

During this fiscal year, 92 appointments of full-time magistrate judges were made, including 44 new appointments and 48 reappointments. Seven individuals were appointed to part-time magistrate judge positions, including two new appointments and five reappointments. In addition, 94 retired magistrate judges were recalled to service under 28 U.S.C. § 636(h).

The following information is provided pursuant to the reporting requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 604(d)(3). The average age of new appointees to full-time magistrate judge positions was 49 years; the average age of new appointees to part-time magistrate judge positions was 50 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 25 years of bar membership. Of the new full-time magistrate judges, at the time of their appointments, 16 had been assistant United States attorneys, 12 had been in private practice, 3 had been state court judges, 3 had been assistant federal public defenders, 2 had been state assistant attorneys general, 2 had been general counsel or assistant general counsel, 1 had been a part-time United States magistrate judge, 1 had been a military judge, 1 had been a law clerk, 1 had been a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, 1 had been a deputy city solicitor, and 1 had been both a United States immigration judge and a colonel in the United States Army reserve.

Through September 2023, the Judicial Conference authorized 562 full-time magistrate judge positions, 25 part-time positions, and 2 combination clerk/magistrate judge positions.

For data on magistrate judge positions, see Table 12.