In addition to the powers and duties in 28 U.S.C. § 636(a), after an indictment is returned
or an information is filed in a felony case, United States Magistrate Judges are hereby authorized
under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), to perform any duties assigned to them by any United States District
Judge of this Court that are consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(a) Pretrial Matters. In the absence of a United States District Judge’s decision to
reserve a proceeding for decision by a United States District Judge, and with the exception of the
motions and petitions listed herein, a United States Magistrate Judge of this Court is authorized
and assigned to hear and determine pretrial matters including, but not limited to:
(1) Accepting criminal complaints and issuing arrest warrants or summonses;
(2) Conducting initial appearances and imposing release conditions;
(3) Conducting preliminary examinations;
(4) Receiving grand jury returns in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(f);
(5) Accepting waivers of indictment;
(6) Receiving executed or cancelling unexecuted arrest warrants;
(7) Conducting arraignments not triable by the United States Magistrate Judge
and taking pleas of not guilty in such cases;
(8) Hearing motions and entering orders for examinations to determine mental
competency;
(9) Hearing and determining discovery motions and motions to sever;
(10) Issuing subpoenas, writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum or habeas
corpus ad prosequendum, or other orders necessary to obtain the presence of parties, witnesses, or
evidence needed for court proceedings;
(11) Conducting initial appearances and preliminary hearings in probation and
supervised release revocation proceedings;
(12) Conducting proceedings for defendants arrested in this district under a
warrant issued in another district for allegedly failing to appear or violating release conditions and
issuing all necessary orders incident thereto;
(13) Issuing search warrants and receiving warrant returns;
(14) Authorizing the installation of pen registers and devices including trap and
trace devices (and issuing orders to assist), beeper devices (transponders), and clone beepers;
(15) Determining if defendants have knowingly and voluntarily waived counsel,
appointing attorneys for defendants who cannot afford them, and approving attorney expense
vouchers;
(16) Determining issues of release or detention of defendants, material
witnesses, and confidential informants;
(17) Ordering exoneration or forfeiture of bonds;
(18) Determining the propriety of joint representation of criminal defendants;
(19) Hearing and determining applications for admission to practice before this
Court;
(20) Directing the payment of basic transportation and subsistence expenses for
defendants financially unable to bear the costs of travel to required court appearances;
(21) Conducting initial proceedings upon the appearance of an individual
accused of an act of juvenile delinquency;
(22) Performing the functions specified in 18 U.S.C. §§ 4107, 4108, and 4109
regarding offenders’ verification of consent to transfer to or from the United States and attorney
appointments; and
(23) Conducting a plea hearing and rejecting or accepting a plea and
recommending rejection or acceptance of a plea by the United States District Judge.
(b) Additional Pretrial Matters. Upon written order or a United States District Judge’s
specific oral referral, a United States Magistrate Judge may also:
(1) Rule on pre-indictment challenges to grand jury subpoenas or other motions
related to grand jury proceedings;
(2) Exercise general supervision of criminal calendars, including the handling
of calendar and status calls, and motions to continue or expedite trials;
(3) Conduct pretrial conferences in a criminal case; and
(4) Conduct a plea hearing and reject or accept a plea and recommend rejection
or acceptance of a plea by the United States District Judge.
(c) Continuance of Felony Cases from District Court Docket. At arraignment, a
United States Magistrate Judge is authorized to grant a single presumptive continuance while
considering the requirements of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161 et seq., and ensuring that
the ends of justice are served by granting the continuance. It is anticipated that most such
continuances will occur where trial is set less than thirty (30) days from arraignment. A United
States Magistrate Judge may also resolve any objections to this presumptive continuance.
(d) Dispositive Matters.
(1) United States Magistrate Judge’s Recommendation. A United States
Magistrate Judge is authorized to submit to a United States District Judge a report containing
proposed findings of fact and a recommendation for disposition by the United States District Judge
of the following matters:
(A) Motions to dismiss or quash an indictment or information;
(B) Motions to suppress evidence;
(C) With the consent of the parties and the assigned United States
District Judge, make such recommendations regarding the taking and accepting of guilty pleas as
may be necessary;
(D) Petitions to revoke probation and supervised release, including the
conduct of the final probation or supervised release revocation hearing; and
(E) Petitions for habeas corpus and motions for post-conviction relief
filed under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254, and 2255.
(2) Authority to Conduct Proceedings. A United States Magistrate Judge is authorized to issue any
preliminary order and conduct any necessary evidentiary hearing or other proceeding arising in the
exercise of the authority conferred by this subsection.
(e) Exception. Nothing in this Rule precludes a United States District Judge from (1)
reserving any proceeding for conduct by a United States District Judge, rather than a United States
Magistrate Judge, or (2) modifying the method of assigning matters to a United States Magistrate
Judge, as circumstances warrant.
Advisory Committee Notes
This local rule delineates what matters are referred to a magistrate judge. It remains
necessary because §§ 636(b)(1)(A) & (B) provide that an Article III judge “may designate” a
Magistrate Judge to hear certain enumerated matters and even though each District Judge has a
Standing Order, it is possible that unless the District Judge checks all the boxes, some matters may
not be deemed properly referred. It is also important to have a district-wide “blanket” designation
because certain preliminary matters are handled by Magistrate Judges before a District Judge is
assigned to the matter and before that judge’s Standing Order is, thereby, invoked.
