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Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Hon. Michael McShane, Chief Judge

Melissa Aubin, Clerk of Court

LR 73 - Magistrate Judges: Trial by Consent

(See Fed. R. Civ. P. 73)

LR 73-1 Duties and Powers

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), and subject to the consent of the parties, every full-time, part-time, or recalled Magistrate Judge assigned to the District of Oregon is authorized to exercise civil jurisdiction over all assigned cases, including entry of final judgment and the conduct of any court or jury trial.

LR 73-2 Accelerated Trial Scheduling

Unlike District Judges who are assigned both civil and criminal cases, and by law must give scheduling priority to criminal cases, Magistrate Judges are assigned civil cases and criminal misdemeanor and petty offense cases only. Consequently, a Magistrate Judge is able to set earlier and firmer trial dates than might otherwise be possible for a District Judge for parties who consent pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b). (See LR 16-1(b).)

LR 73-3 Review By District Court Judge of Rulings Issued Prior to Full Consent

If a Magistrate Judge issues a ruling or findings and recommendations before all the parties have consented to a Magistrate Judge, and objections are filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636, a District Judge will review the objections, even if all the parties consent to a Magistrate Judge subsequent to the issuance of the ruling or findings and recommendations.

Commentary
The purpose LR 73-3 is to address the situation where all but one party has consented to a Magistrate Judge, and the Magistrate Judge then gives a favorable ruling to the non-consenting party. The concern is that the non-consenting party may try to foreclose a review of any 28 U.S.C. § 636 objections to the favorable ruling by filing a Magistrate Judge consent form shortly after receiving the favorable ruling. Under this rule, a District Judge will still review those objections.

Amendment History to LR 73
December 1, 2009
LR 73-3 New rule and commentary added.
March 1, 2012
LR 73-2 Added cross-reference to LR 16-1(b).
March 1, 2013
LR 73-2 Clerical correction adding a period after the rule reference in parentheses.
March 1, 2014
LR 73-1 Inserted a (serial) comma before "or recalled." Omitted "designated and" before "authorized" and changed "to include the" to "including."
LR 73-2 Changed "only assigned civil cases" to "assigned civil cases and criminal misdemeanor and petty offense cases only." Changed "Consequently, when parties consent pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b), the assigned" to "Consequently, a," and added "for parties who consent pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)" after "District Judge."
Commentary In the second sentence, changed "this" to "the" after the words "objections to."

LR 1 - Scope and Purpose

LR 3 - Commencement of Action

LR 4 - Summons

LR 5 - Service and Filing of Pleadings and Papers

LR 5.2 - Redaction of Filings

LR 6 - Computing Time After Service

LR 7 - Motions Practice

LR 7.1 - Disclosure Statement

LR 10 - Form of Pleadings and Other Documents

LR 11 - Signature Requirements

LR 15 - Amended and Supplemental Pleadings

LR 16 - Pretrial Conferences, Scheduling, and Case Management

LR 17 – Claims Involving Protected Persons Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)

LR 23 - Class Actions

LR 26 - Discovery

LR 27 - Depositions: Before Action or Pending Appeal

LR 28 - Depositions in a Foreign Country

LR 29 - Stipulations About Discovery Procedure

LR 30 - Depositions

LR 33 - Interrogatories

LR 34 - Requests for Production

LR 36 - Requests for Admission

LR 37 - Motions to Compel

LR 38 - Right to a Jury Trial

LR 40 - Scheduling Cases for Trial

LR 41 - Dismissal of Action

LR 42 - Consolidation; Separate Trials

LR 45 - Subpoena

LR 47 - Selecting Jurors

LR 48 - Jurors and Participation in the Verdict

LR 51 - Instructions to the Jury

LR 54 - Bill of Costs and Attorney Fees

LR 55 - Default

LR 56 - Summary Judgment

LR 65 - Injunctions and Restraining Orders

LR 65.1 - Securities and Sureties

LR 67 - Deposits in Court

LR 68 - Offer of Judgment

LR 72 - Magistrate Judges: Pretrial Order

LR 73 - Magistrate Judges: Trial by Consent

LR 77 - Conducting Business; Clerk's Authority; Notice of an Order or Judgment

LR 79 - Records Kept by the Clerk

LR 81 - Habeas Corpus Petitions

LR 83 - Rules and Directives - By the District Court

LR 100 - Rule Governing CM/ECF: Case Management and Electronic Case Filing - Practices

Timetable for Lawyers