Federal magistrate judges are playing a growing role in civil litigation in all three districts in Pennsylvania, as well as across the country. With consent of the parties, magistrate judges now conduct full civil trials and enter final judgments. The Western and Middle districts of Pennsylvania have adopted procedures to facilitate the process even more.
First, let’s sweep aside two major misconceptions: (1) magistrate judges are now empowered to conduct both bench and jury trials; and (2) once a final judgment is entered by a magistrate judge, there is no appeal to a federal district judge. A final judgment from a magistrate judge trial is appealable only to the federal circuit court of appeals. Thus, a trial by magistrate judge is the same as a trial by a federal district court judge. Magistrate judges have come a long way from initially being regarded as simply a newer version of the old U.S. commissioners.
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