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1 DECEMBER 12, 2023
2
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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IN RE: CONSENT AND REFERRALS TO
6 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES GENERAL ORDER 2023-11
7 UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 636
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9 This General Order is adopted under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and United States
10 District Court for the District of Nevada Local Rules IB 2-1 and 2-2. The District Judges
11 hereby designate the Magistrate Judges of this District to exercise jurisdiction over civil
12 matters, and specially designate them to enter final judgments in civil cases, provided
13 all parties to the case consent to proceed before the Magistrate Judge as established in
14 this Order. The goal of these procedures is to increase the percentage of consent cases
15 to further advance Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s mandate—“to secure
16 the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.”
17 This court direct assigns a percentage of most newly filed civil cases to Magistrate
18 Judges. Consent to a Magistrate Judge is voluntary. When a case is directly assigned
19 to a Magistrate Judge, all parties are provided with an option to decline consent form
20 (“the Form”). Any party may decline consent by signing and returning the Form to the
21 court. Effective January 1, 2024, each party will be deemed to have knowingly and
22 voluntarily consented to proceed before the assigned Magistrate Judge if the Form is
23 not returned within 21 days from their first appearance in the case. This Order does not
24 modify the random assignment of other civil cases to a District Judge. In those cases, a
25 Magistrate Judge will also be assigned to handle all pretrial and non-dispositive matters.
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1 General Objectives and Applicability. In most cases, a civil case is randomly
2 assigned to a U.S. District Judge and a U.S. Magistrate Judge. Local Rule IB 1-3 gives
3 the Magistrate Judges the authority to hear and finally determine pretrial and non-
4 dispositive matters, and any appeal of the Magistrate Judge’s rulings are made to the
5 District Judge. It is the intent of the court to facilitate the direct assignment of civil cases
6 under 28 U.S.C. § 636 to the Magistrate Judges to make decisions affecting the final
7 disposition of cases. The public, the parties to civil litigation, and the court are well
8 served by assignment to Magistrate Judges of all appropriate cases. This Order does
9 not apply to the following:
10 a. Cases in which a plaintiff seeks review under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) of a
11 decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. Those cases are
12 governed by a different general order.
13 b. Bankruptcy appeals and bankruptcy withdrawals.
14 c. Habeas petitions and prisoner civil rights cases.
15 d. Cases in which a motion for preliminary injunction or temporary
16 restraining order is filed simultaneously with the complaint.
17 Procedure for Assignment and Consent. A percentage of all newly filed, non-
18 exempt civil cases will be assigned to the Magistrate Judges through the Clerk of Court’s
19 random civil case assignment system. Cases filed in the unofficial Southern Division of
20 the court will be assigned only to Magistrate Judges sitting in that division, and the same
21 will apply to the unofficial Northern Division. The Chief Judge will determine the
22 percentage of cases to assign the Magistrate Judges from time-to-time.
23 Once a case is assigned, the Clerk will:
24 (a) advise the parties that consent to the assigned Magistrate Judge is voluntary
25 and that consent may be declined;
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1 (b) docket a copy of this Order and the Form. The Clerk will also mail a copy of
2 this Order and the Form to all plaintiffs proceeding pro se and enter the event on the
3 docket;
4 (c) advise the parties that the Form must be filed in the docket or sent to the Clerk
5 within 21 days of their first appearance in the case should they choose to decline
6 consent; and
7 (d) advise the parties that, upon receipt of a declination of consent (the Form),
8 the case will be assigned to a District Judge randomly selected from the District Judges
9 in the division where the case is properly filed.
10 Any party wishing to decline consent must file or send the Form to the Clerk’s
11 Office within 21 days from their first appearance in the case. If the Form is not returned
12 by this deadline, each party is deemed to have knowingly and voluntarily consented to
13 proceed before the assigned Magistrate Judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
14 All matters that arise in a case before the deadline by which consent must be
15 declined are deemed referred to the Magistrate Judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b).
16 The Magistrate Judge assigned to the case will handle all dispositive, non-
17 dispositive, and pretrial matters, including discovery. Any Early Neutral Evaluation or
18 Settlement Conference may be assigned to a different Magistrate Judge on a random
19 basis. Any appeal of an order or final judgment will be taken to the United States Court
20 of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
21 A Magistrate Judge may recuse from a case upon determination that there is a
22 conflict of interest. In that event, another Magistrate Judge will be randomly assigned as
23 the presiding judge and no further declination of consent will be entertained beyond the
24 date designated in the form originally sent to each party.
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1 If any party declines consent, the case will be returned to the random civil case
2 assignment system for selection of a District Judge. The previously assigned Magistrate
3 Judge will remain assigned to the case and will handle all pretrial and non-dispositive
4 matters. The identity of a declining party will not be disclosed to any judge.
5 If a party challenges the consent process or moves to withdraw consent, the case
6 will be randomly assigned to a District Judge to resolve the issue of consent. The
7 previously assigned Magistrate Judge will remain assigned to the case.
8 In all cases initially assigned to a District Judge, the parties may nevertheless
9 consent to having the case heard by a Magistrate Judge assigned as the presiding
10 judge. If the parties consent, the Clerk must reassign the case to a Magistrate Judge as
11 set forth under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
12 District Judge May Waive Time Limits. A District Judge may, in their discretion,
13 transfer a case at any time to a Magistrate Judge based on the consent of all parties.
14 Proceedings In Forma Pauperis. Unless the court otherwise directs, upon filing,
15 the Clerk must assign to a Magistrate Judge all motions and applications to proceed in
16 forma pauperis (“IFP”). All applications to proceed IFP are deemed referred under 28
17 U.S.C. § 636. Any reference received from a Court of Appeals for the limited purpose of
18 determining whether an appellant’s IFP status should continue or whether the appeal is
19 frivolous or taken in bad faith must be reviewed by the judge who made the final decision
20 that resulted in the appeal.
21 DATED THIS 12th Day of December 2023.
22
23 MIRANDA M. DU, CHIEF JUDGE
24 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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