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The Complete Guide to Becoming A Judge, Magistrate Judge, and Magistrate
What it really takes to wear the robe: the day-to-day work, the pay, the path, and whether you have what it takes to sit on the bench
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Judge, Magistrate Judge, and Magistrate Actually Do?
Let's clear the air right now: being a judge is nothing like what you see on television. There is no dramatic gavel slam every five minutes, no whispered objections from lawyers who are secretly childhood sweethearts, and no detective work where the judge cracks the case mid-hearing. The real job is quieter, slower, and in many ways, far heavier than the Hollywood version. But it's also deeply important work. If you're seriously considering this career, you need to understand what the day-to-day actually looks like before you invest a decade of your life in the path toward it.
At its core, the job of a judge, magistrate judge, or magistrate is to be the neutral referee in a dispute. The dispute might be between two neighbors over a fence line, between a district attorney and a person accused of a crime, between a corporation and a former employee, or between a parent and a child welfare agency. Your job is not to pick a side. Your job is to listen to both sides, make sure the rules of the process are followed, and then decide what the law requires. That decision can be as small as granting a two-week extension for a filing, or as enormous as sentencing a person to decades in prison.
It's helpful to understand the differences between the three titles, because while they're often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. A judge