Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo
On September 25, 2025, Chief Judge Margo K. Brodie issued Administrative Order No. 2025-14 regarding the direct assignment of civil cases to the magistrate judges in the Eastern District of New York. Per the administrative order, the Eastern District’s Direct Assignment Program, which originally commenced on September 25, 2023, will continue through March 25, 2027, subject to further extension by the Eastern District’s Board of Judges. This article provides a brief history of magistrate judges and an overview of the Direct Assignment Program.
Brief History of Magistrate Judges
Magistrate judges are officers of the district courts who are appointed, following a competitive merit selection process, by a majority vote of a district’s Board of Judges. Magistrate judges serve an initial term of eight years; their terms may be renewed after a rigorous review of their work and consideration of community input. “In 1990, Congress formally changed the title [] from ‘magistrate’ to ‘magistrate judge’ ‘to reflect more accurately the responsibilities, duties and stature of the office.’” Nambiar v. Cent. Orthopedic Grp., LLP, 158 F.4th 349, 359 (2d Cir. 2025) (quoting 136 Cong. Rec. S17570-02 (1990)) (“To be clear, the proper title is “magistrate judge” because magistrate judges are judges.”) (emphasis in original).
Magistrate judges have long played a critical role in the management of federal civil litigation in the Eastern District. The late Eastern District Chief Judge Jack B. Weinstein helped to transform the way in which magistrate judges were used in the district’s case management. As a result of Judge Weinstein’s innovative and trailblazing work, and given the Eastern District’s long tradition of excellence in selecting magistrate judges, the Eastern District’s Division of Business Rules provides that all federal civil cases, with limited exceptions, are automatically referred to a magistrate judge for pre-trial case management.
Magistrate judges routinely handle a host of issues that arise in these cases. Among other things, magistrate judges typically:
– Oversee all initial and pre-trial conferences;
– Address a wide range of discovery disputes;
– Handle settlement conferences; and
– Supervise the day-to-day management of myriad cases.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the importance of magistrate judges. In Peretz v. United States, 501 U.S. 923, 928 (1991), the Supreme Court noted that “given the bloated dockets that district courts have now come to expect as ordinary,” the role of the magistrate judge “in today’s federal judicial system is nothing less than indispensable.” (emphasis added). In Wellness Int’l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, 575 U.S. 665, 668 (2015), the Supreme Court added that Congress created magistrate judges to assist district courts in their work and emphasized that, “[i]t is no exaggeration to say that without the distinguished service of these judicial colleagues, the work of the federal court system would grind nearly to a halt.”
Under a law passed by Congress in 1976, the parties in a civil lawsuit in federal district court have the option of consenting to have their entire case handled by a magistrate judge. As a result, civil litigants frequently consent to have magistrate judges preside over their entire case, including dispositive motion practice, jury or court trials, and the entry of judgment.
The Eastern District’s Direct Assignment Program
Pursuant to the Eastern District’s Direct Assignment Program, in a percentage of civil cases determined by the Eastern District Board of Judges, a magistrate judge will be assigned as the sole judge on the matter at the time of case initiation, except that a magistrate judge will not be assigned to any bankruptcy appeals or any case where the case-initiating document is a motion for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order.
In those cases assigned through the Direct Assignment Program, for the magistrate judge to remain the presiding judge – including for the purposes of deciding all dispositive motions, holding trial, and entering judgment – all parties must file a written consent form consenting to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge no later than seven days following the Rule 16 initial case management conference. In cases exempt from Rule 16 scheduling orders – pursuant to Local Rule 16.1 – all parties must file a consent form no later than thirty days following the appearance of all defendants, with exceptions for Social Security litigation and habeas corpus petitions.
Should a party not consent (and not consenting will have no bearing on the rest of the case), a district judge will be assigned to the case, and the magistrate judge may remain assigned to handle all pre-trial case management.
Additionally, parties may still wish to consent to assignment to a magistrate judge after a district judge is assigned as well. The parties may consent at any time to magistrate judge jurisdiction for a final decision on any motion, or for all purposes, including entry of final judgment.
In adopting the Direct Assignment Program, the Eastern District joins more than 40 other district courts which have a “direct assignment” system, including extra-large districts around the country. One advantage of the Direct Assignment Program is that litigants may be able to proceed to trial or resolution faster before a magistrate judge than a district judge. District judges preside over felony criminal trials and handle felony criminal caseloads, which can be time-consuming. Magistrate judges do not. Further, a criminal defendant’s speedy trial rights may force a civil trial to be re-scheduled in favor of a criminal trial, which may mean that civil litigants need to cancel trial plans on short notice and/or expend more resources in continuing the litigation. A trial date with a magistrate judge is less likely to be postponed.
For more information about the Direct Assignment Program, including biographies of each magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, parties are encouraged to review the Eastern District’s Direct Assignment Program website, located at https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/bulletin-direct-assignment-program.