Chapter 43, Section 631, Subsection (b) · 28 U.S.C. Chapter 43 — UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGES

Contents

(b)No individual may be appointed or reappointed to serve as a magistrate judge under this chapter unless:

(1)He has been for at least five years a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States, except that an individual who does not meet the bar membership requirements of this paragraph may be appointed and serve as a part-time magistrate judge if the appointing court or courts and the conference find that no qualified individual who is a member of the bar is available to serve at a specific location;

(2)He is determined by the appointing district court or courts to be competent to perform the duties of the office;

(3)In the case of an individual appointed to serve in a national park, he resides within the exterior boundaries of that park, or at some place reasonably adjacent thereto;

(4)He is not related by blood or marriage to a judge of the appointing court or courts at the time of his initial appointment; and

(5)He is selected pursuant to standards and procedures promulgated by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Such standards and procedures shall contain provision for public notice of all vacancies in magistrate judge positions and for the establishment by the district courts of merit selection panels, composed of residents of the individual judicial districts, to assist the courts in identifying and recommending persons who are best qualified to fill such positions.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.