from staff
The U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida is accepting applications for a full-time magistrate judge position in Ocala.
The duties for the position include:
• conducting of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases;
• trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases;
• conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district courts; and
• trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants.
To be qualified for appointment, an applicant must:
• Be, and have 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, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutes authorized);
• Be competent to perform all duties of the office; be of good moral character; be emotionally stable and mature; be committed to equal justice under the law; be in good health; be patient and courteous; and be capable of deliberation and decisiveness;
• Be less than 70 years old; and
• Not be related to a judge of the district court.
A merit selection panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applicants and recommend to the judges of the District Court in confidence the persons it considers best qualified.
The panel for the Ocala position will submit to the court the names of five candidates for the position.
The court will make the appointment, following an FBI full-field investigation and an IRS tax check of the appointee, which probably cannot be completed before July 1.
An affirmative effort will be made to give due consideration to all qualified candidates, including women and members of minority groups.
The current annual salary of the position is $160,080. The term of office is eight years.
The official application form may be obtained at the intake counters of the Clerk of Court’s Office in Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Ocala, Orlando and Tampa or at the court’s website at www.flmd.uscourts.gov.
The original and 13 copies of the completed application, including a recent and in-depth writing sample, must be submitted only by the applicant personally (an application may not be submitted on behalf of another) and must be received, regardless to mode of delivery, at the Office of the Clerk in Orlando by Feb. 11.
Applications by facsimile transmission cannot be accepted.