What does a magistrate do?
Magistrate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real magistrate resumes:
- 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.
- Upload filings, notices and orders into the electronic case management system CM/ECF).
- Sort all incoming mail and process all payments for fines, bonds and filing fees.
- Create the unit for the purposes of executing a massive evictions purge of tenants that are delinquent.
- Engage in litigation, prepare interrogatory request and responses, and conduct depositions.
- Provide continuing oversight on the evaluation, hiring, and terminating of independent investment managers
- Perform litigation preparation and support including initial research, correspondence and drafting of motions and pleadings.
- Determine dispositions over traffic infractions, evictions, and small claims cases.
- Partner in several capital murder prosecutions.
Magistrate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Magistrates are proficient in Legal Research, District Court, and Legal Issues. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Writing skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Magistrates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Legal Research, 16%
Conducted legal research, drafted proposed legal opinions and attended settlement conferences.
- District Court, 12%
Issued Secured Juvenile Petitions for undisciplined and delinquent juveniles in after hours of District Court Judges unavailability.
- Legal Issues, 10%
Conduct arraignments, hearings, and trials; research civil and criminal legal issues; and draft judicial opinions.
- Legal Principles, 9%
Ascertained and applied facts to relevant legal principles.
- Phone Calls, 7%
Received telephone calls, greeted visitors and ascertained the nature of call or visit.
- Criminal History, 6%
Determined bail amounts for arrested individuals based on criminal history, employment history, and bond interview questions that I administered.
Most magistrates use their skills in "legal research," "district court," and "legal issues" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential magistrate responsibilities here:
Listening skills. The most essential soft skill for a magistrate to carry out their responsibilities is listening skills. This skill is important for the role because "judges and hearing officers evaluate information, so they must pay close attention to what is being said." Additionally, a magistrate resume shows how their duties depend on listening skills: "communicated with law enforcement to insure all elements of crimes were met to issue criminal charges. "
Writing skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling magistrate duties is writing skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "judges and hearing officers write recommendations and decisions on appeals and disputes." According to a magistrate resume, here's how magistrates can utilize writing skills in their job responsibilities: "advanced knowledge and skills in legal research and writing in children's, civil and criminal courts. "
The three companies that hire the most magistrates are:
- NC.gov3 magistrates jobs
- United States Courts1 magistrates jobs
- City of Madison1 magistrates jobs
Compare different magistrates
Magistrate vs. Superior court judge
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a magistrate are more likely to require skills like "legal research," "legal principles," "phone calls," and "criminal history." On the other hand, a job as a superior court judge requires skills like "cash handling," "court appearances," "gc," and "litigation." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Superior court judges tend to reach similar levels of education than magistrates. In fact, superior court judges are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Magistrate vs. Juvenile court judge
Each career also uses different skills, according to real magistrate resumes. While magistrate responsibilities can utilize skills like "legal research," "district court," "legal issues," and "legal principles," juvenile court judges use skills like "community services," "court reports," "gps," and "appointment letters."
In general, juvenile court judges achieve higher levels of education than magistrates. They're 8.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Magistrate vs. Circuit court judge
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, magistrates are more likely to have skills like "legal principles," "phone calls," "criminal history," and "magistrates." But a circuit court judge is more likely to have skills like "appeals," "law enforcement," "jr," and "family court."
When it comes to education, circuit court judges tend to earn similar degree levels compared to magistrates. In fact, they're 4.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 6.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Magistrate vs. County court judge
Even though a few skill sets overlap between magistrates and county court judges, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a magistrate might have more use for skills like "legal principles," "phone calls," "criminal history," and "magistrates." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of county court judges require skills like "county court," "law enforcement," "court orders," and "travel arrangements. "
County court judges reach similar levels of education compared to magistrates, in general. The difference is that they're 3.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 8.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of magistrate
Updated January 8, 2025
