The district judges of our court are Article III judges, that is, they are appointed by the President of the United States, with approval of the Senate, under authority of Article III of the United States Constitution. They are appointed to lifetime terms.

We also have magistrate judges. They are appointed by the district judges and serve eight-year terms. Their duties are much like those of the district judges, except they do not have authority to try criminal cases, except misdemeanors. They can try civil cases by consent of the parties and do try a number of civil cases each year.