Magistrate vs municipal court judge

The differences between magistrates and municipal court judges can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a magistrate and a municipal court judge. Additionally, a magistrate has an average salary of $210,238, which is higher than the $31,278 average annual salary of a municipal court judge.

The top three skills for a magistrate include legal research, district court and legal issues. The most important skills for a municipal court judge are municipal court, legal research, and court judge.

Magistrate vs municipal court judge overview

	Magistrate	Municipal Court Judge
Yearly salary	$210,238	$31,278
Hourly rate	$101.08	$15.04
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	44	1,005
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Doctoral Degree, 43%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

Magistrate vs municipal court judge salary

Magistrates and municipal court judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Magistrate	Municipal Court Judge
Average salary	$210,238	$31,278
Salary range	Between $123,000 And $358,000	Between $24,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Port Saint Lucie, FL	-
Highest paying state	Texas	-
Best paying company	U.S. District Court	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between magistrate and municipal court judge education

There are a few differences between a magistrate and a municipal court judge in terms of educational background:

	Magistrate	Municipal Court Judge
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Doctoral Degree, 43%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Magistrate vs municipal court judge demographics

Here are the differences between magistrates' and municipal court judges' demographics:

	Magistrate	Municipal Court Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4%	Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between magistrate and municipal court judge duties and responsibilities

Magistrate example responsibilities.

Issue various types of processes including: arrest warrants, summonses, search warrants, subpoenas, and civil commitments.
Prepare subpoenas and dockets for municipal court proceedings.
Issue various types of processes such as arrest warrants, summonses, bonds, search warrants, and medical detention orders.
Issue criminal and civil summonses.
Advise defendants of their rights, set bonds, and accept pleas.
Accept payments of bonds set by magistrates, and district and superior court judges.

Municipal court judge example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage the annual budget of the court, manage oversight regarding billing procedures in accordance with state regulations.
Process and review all post-conviction appeals motions file by defendants serving long sentences.
Patrol areas in an undercover capacity to combat organize burglary, drug manufacturing/sales and prostitution.
Patrol areas in an undercover capacity to combat organize burglary, drug manufacturing/sales and prostitution.

Magistrate vs municipal court judge skills

Common magistrate skills

Legal Research, 16%
District Court, 12%
Legal Issues, 10%
Legal Principles, 9%
Phone Calls, 7%
Criminal History, 6%

Common municipal court judge skills

Municipal Court, 42%
Legal Research, 12%
Court Judge, 9%
Jury Trials, 9%
Subpoenas, 7%
Court Administration, 4%

Magistrate vs. similar jobs

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What similar roles do

Judge responsibilities

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Magistrate vs Municipal Court Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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