(a) Jurisdiction: The United States Magistrate Judges in this judicial district are
hereby specially designated and, with the consent of the parties, shall have jurisdiction
to try persons accused of, and sentence persons convicted of, misdemeanors committed
within this judicial district, in accordance with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3401, Fed. R.
Crim. P. 58 and 28 U.S.C. § 636.
(b) Arraignments: All magistrate judges are specially designated to handle
arraignments in criminal cases pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 10, including acceptance of
“not guilty” pleas; scheduling of motions hearings, pretrial conferences and trials; and
issuance of bench warrants for the arrest of defendants who fail to appear for
arraignment.
(c) Waiver of Presence at Arraignment: Defendants may waive the right to be
present at their arraignment. Waivers must be submitted in writing and signed by the
defendant not later than four (4) days before the arraignment to permit the Court or the
government sufficient time to order the defendant’s appearance if required. No hearing
shall be necessary to determine the providence or voluntariness of the defendant’s
written, signed waiver of the right to appear at the arraignment.
(d) Additional Duties: As an additional duty under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), all
magistrate judges are designated to take pleas in felony criminal cases under Fed. R.
Crim. P. 11. With written consent of the parties, the magistrate judge may take the plea
and enter it on the record. Such pleas, conducted with the consent of the parties, do
not require de novo review by the district judge if no exceptions are made to the
recommendation of the magistrate judge. See United States v. Osborne, 345 F.3d 281
(4th Cir. 2003). If a defendant does not consent to a magistrate judge taking the plea,
the magistrate judge may conduct the proceeding and make a recommendation to the
district judge.
Discovery
