When you first appear in a civil case in the Eastern District of New York, the judge before you is almost certainly a Magistrate Judge.  Longstanding practice in this District has been for a Magistrate Judge to oversee pretrial case management and shepherd a case from filing through the completion of discovery.  Along the way, the Magistrate Judge rules on discovery disputes and attempts to resolve the case through settlement.  The Magistrate Judge may also be called upon to issue a report and recommendation resolving dispositive motions, such as a summary judgment motion, and even select the jury for the trial.  Given this involvement, the Magistrate Judge is the first, and perhaps the only, judge you will ever see in your case.

Magistrate Judges (who have been “judges,” not “magistrates,” since 1990) are federal judges appointed to eight-year terms through a rigorous selection process.  They must first be recommended by a merit selection committee and are ultimately selected by the Court’s District Judges.  They play a central and vital role in civil case management.