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Efficiency Run Amok: Challenging The Authority Of Magistrate Judges To Hear And Accept Felony Guilty Pleas, Tomi Mendel

Vanderbilt Law Review

In an ideal world, a trial would never be unreasonably delayed or cut short. Judges would never need to juggle multiple difficult trials or drown in administrative tasks that distract from the fair adjudication of cases, and lawyers and litigants could be reassured that each judgment was arrived at fairly and after proper reflection. Congress created the magistrate system in an attempt to move the federal judiciary closer to this ideal state of affairs.' The purpose of this Article I judicial system is to facilitate the resolution of less significant disputes and speed the administration of procedural tasks. When district …