Magistrate Judge
United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Magistrate Judge Vacancy
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma is seeking qualified applicants for a full-time United States Magistrate Judge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a term beginning April 1, 2023. The essential function of courts is to dispense justice. An important component of this function is the creation and maintenance of diversity in the court system. A community's belief that a court dispenses justice is heightened when the court reflects the community's racial, ethnic, and gender diversity.
The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging and will include: (1) conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; (2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; (3) conduct of various pretrial motions and evidentiary proceedings as may be delegated by the Judges of the District Court; and (4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic authority of a U.S. Magistrate Judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. § 636.
To be qualified for appointment, an applicant must:
1. Be, and have been for at least 5 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, and have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutes authorized such as experience as a law clerk, but which can only be substituted for two years of law practice experience);
2. Be competent to perform all the 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;
3. Be less than 70 years of age;
4. Not be related to a judge of the district court; and
5. Undergo FBI and IRS investigations.
A merit selection panel comprised of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applicants and recommend to the district judges in confidence the five persons it considers best qualified. The individual selected must comply with the financial disclosure requirements pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-521, 90 Stat. 1824 (1978)(codified at 5 U.S.C. app. 4 §§ 101-111) as implemented by the Judicial Conference of the United States.
An affirmative effort will be made to give due consideration to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, age, gender, religion, national origin, or disability.
The current annual salary of the position is $205,528. The term of office is eight (8) years.
The United States District Court is an equal opportunity employer.