Editing United States District Court (section)

==== Role ====
The magistrate judge's seat is not a separate court; the authority that a magistrate judge exercises is the [[wikipedia:Jurisdiction|jurisdiction]] of the district court itself, delegated to the magistrate judge by the district judges of the court under governing statutory authority, local rules of court, or court orders.  Rather than fixing the duties of magistrate judges nationwide, the Federal Magistrates Act allows each district court to assign duties to the magistrate judges as fits the needs of that court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fedbar.org/PDFs/A-Guide-to-the-Federal-Magistrate-Judge-System.aspx?FT=.pdf|title=A Guide to the Federal Magistrate Judge System|first=Peter G.|last=McCabe|date=August 2014|publisher=[[Federal Bar Association]]|location=Arlington, Virginia|access-date=2015-06-26}}</ref>

In criminal proceedings, magistrate judges preside over [[wikipedia:Misdemeanor|misdemeanor]] and petty offense cases, and as to all criminal cases (felony and misdemeanor) may issue [[wikipedia:Search_warrant|search warrants]], [[wikipedia:Arrest_warrant|arrest warrants]], and [[wikipedia:Summons|summonses]], accept criminal complaints, conduct initial appearance proceedings and detention [[wikipedia:Hearing_(law)|hearings]], set [[wikipedia:Bail|bail]] or other conditions of release or detention, hold [[wikipedia:Preliminary_hearing|preliminary hearings]] and examinations, administer [[wikipedia:Oath|oaths]], conduct [[wikipedia:Extradition|extradition]] proceedings, and conduct evidentiary hearings on [[wikipedia:Motion_to_suppress|motions to suppress]] evidence in felony cases for issuance of reports and recommendations to the district judge.

The Supreme Court has held in ''[[wikipedia:Peretz_v._United_States|Peretz v. United States]]'' that magistrate judges may supervise the [[wikipedia:Jury_selection|jury selection]] in a felony trial unless a [[wikipedia:Party_(law)|party]] objects.<ref>''Peretz v. United States'', 501 U.S. 923 (1991) (Magistrates may supervise jury selection for a felony trial with consent of the parties).</ref>

In civil proceedings, magistrate judges typically manage [[wikipedia:Discovery_(law)|discovery]] and other pretrial matters. They are authorized to issue [[wikipedia:Court_order|orders]] in pretrial matters as long as the order is not [[wikipedia:Dispositive_motion|dispositive]] of the case as a whole (for example, an order granting [[wikipedia:Summary_judgment|summary judgment]] is not within their purview). They may also be assigned to write reports and recommendations to the district judge as to dispositive matters. With the consent of the parties, they may [[wikipedia:Adjudication|adjudicate]] civil cases in the same manner as a district judge, including presiding over jury or non-jury trials.