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Clerk magistrates are appointed by government officials to assist in managing administrative tasks in US courts, including handling court cases and managing trial schedules. They may preside over minor disputes and show cause hearings, and are intended to free up judges’ time. They are not to be confused with advisory positions in the English court system.
A clerk of the court is an employee of the US court who assists in managing the administrative tasks of a court of law and presides over some preliminary matters. That job usually falls between the support team and the judge. Professionals in this role handle court cases, set hearing dates and manage trial schedules, in addition to adjudicating minor disputes such as traffic violations and preliminary criminal trial proceedings. A notary magistrate will accept applications and make recommendations that can shape the life of a trial.
Only a few states have secretarial magistrates, and the precise job description varies according to local law and custom. All are appointed posts, which means that a government official – usually a state governor – selects magistrate candidates. Most are nominated for lifetime terms of service. They are usually assigned to the US District Courts, but may also be placed in family courts, traffic courts, or administrative hearings offices if they exist and need support.
Support is the main role of the notary magistrate. He typically takes control of the court caseload, helping with high-level tasks such as preparing and typing orders; extract pertinent information from files; and resolve paper-based issues such as estate liquidation, executing wills, and court-ordered property sales. The clerks do not replace ordinary administrative staff, but relieve full-time judges of some burdens.
In many ways, a clerk magistrate is like a junior judge. The job is not intended as a stepping stone to becoming a full-time judge, but as a way to free up the judge’s time. Most states that have secretarial magistrates created the jobs as a way to make courts more efficient in the face of rising costs and caseloads. It is often much cheaper to assign secretarial magistrates to the courts than it is to expand the main judicial base.
Most clerk magistrates are allowed to hear minor matters, including traffic violations and basic child custody hearings. They may also preside over show cause hearings, the first step in any criminal trial. At a fair cause hearing, the parties present their preliminary arguments, and the judge – or notary public, as the case may be – determines whether there is sufficient material to justify a full-fledged process and judgment.
The magistrates of the secretaries who preside over these hearings have a very important role, as they are the ones who determine whether the case proceeds. More experienced criminal defendants often seek to have their cases thrown out with the notary magistrate, which prevents the case from moving forward. This saves the defendant from receiving a criminal record.
A clerk magistrate is not to be confused with a magistrate clerk, an advisory position in the English court system. Britain’s magistrates’ courts are overseen by lay or professional magistrates who act as judges. Officials in this context are professional advisers to magistrates who manage court cases from an administrative perspective.
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