Official site of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

The United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, is currently accepting applications for a full-time magistrate judge position to be resident in Ocala, Florida. Magistrate Judges are selected for a particular division and should expect to remain there for the duration of tenure.

The duties for the position are demanding and wide-ranging such as: 1) conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; 2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; 3) conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district courts; and 4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic jurisdiction of the United States magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C § 636 and in United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Local Rule 6.01.

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 Virgin Islands of the United States, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least 5 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 seventy 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 such position. The court will make the appointment, following an FBI full-field investigation and an IRS tax check of the appointee, which probably can not be completed prior to July 1, 2012. 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 $160,080.00. The term of office is 8 years.

Applicants must use the official application form. The application form may be obtained at the intake counters of the Clerk’s Office in Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Ocala, Orlando and Tampa or at the Court’s internet website at www.flmd.uscourts.gov. The original and thirteen (13) copies of the completed application, including a recent and in-depth writing sample, must be submitted only by the applicant personally (i.e., an application may not be submitted on behalf of another) and must be received, regardless to mode of delivery, at the following address of the Office of the Clerk in Orlando by Monday, February 27, 2012. Applications by facsimile transmission cannot be accepted.

Sheryl L. Loesch, Clerk of Court
United States District Court for the
Middle District of Florida
Attn: Magistrate Judge Applications
401 West Central Boulevard
Suite 2100
Orlando, Florida 32801-0210

All applications will be kept confidential, unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications will be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the judges of the district court. The panel’s deliberations will remain confidential.