Local Rule 73.02: Assignment of Duties to Magistrate Judges

73.02: Assignment of Duties to Magistrate Judges.

(A) Criminal Cases.

(1) Misdemeanor Cases. All misdemeanor cases shall be assigned by the clerk of court to the full-time or part-time magistrate judge designated for the division in which the case is brought.

(2) Felony Cases. All felony cases shall be assigned by the clerk of court to the full-time or part-time magistrate judge designated for the division in which the case is brought for the conduct of an arraignment and for such pretrial proceedings as are directed by the district judge.

(B) Civil Cases.

(1) Consensual References. Where the parties consent to trial and disposition of a case by a full-time magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), such case shall, upon the order of the district judge to whom it was assigned, be reassigned to the full-time magistrate judge designated for the division in which the case is brought.

(2) Automatic References. The clerk of court shall assign the following matters to a full-time magistrate judge upon filing:

(a) All motions for remand, dismissal, or judgment on the pleadings in actions filed under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for review of an administrative determination regarding entitlement to benefits under the Social Security Act and related statutes.

(b) All motions for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

(c) All pretrial proceedings in applications for post-conviction review under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2241, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and mandamus relief as well as for relief sought by persons challenging any form of custody under other federal jurisdictional statutes. This rule does not apply to actions arising under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

(d) All pretrial proceedings in civil rights cases challenging prison conditions or conditions of confinement.

(e) All pretrial proceedings involving litigation by individuals proceeding pro se.

(f) All pretrial proceedings in civil rights cases arising out of the criminal process not covered by Local Civ. Rule 73.02(B)(2)(d) (D.S.C.) above.

(g) All pretrial proceedings involving litigation arising out of employment discrimination cases invoking federal statutes that proscribe unfair discrimination in employment, including 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981-1986; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e16(a); 29 U.S.C. § 206(d); 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634; 29 U.S.C. § 794; 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (Family and Medical Leave Act); or 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (Americans with Disabilities Act).

(C) Method of Case Assignment.

(1) Civil Cases. For the convenience of administration, unless otherwise specified herein or by specific order of the chief judge of the district, references of civil cases shall be assigned by division as follows:

(a) Magistrate judge(s) in Columbia shall be assigned cases filed in the Columbia, Orangeburg, Aiken, and Rock Hill Divisions.

(b) Magistrate judge(s) in Charleston shall be assigned cases filed in the Charleston and Beaufort Divisions.

(c) Magistrate judge(s) in Greenville shall be assigned cases filed in the Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and Greenwood Divisions.

(d) Magistrate judge(s) in Florence shall be assigned cases filed in the Florence Division.

(e) If there is more than one magistrate judge in a division, the cases covered by (a) - (d) above shall be assigned to those magistrate judges on a rotational basis.

(f) All cases challenging conditions of confinement filed by a federal prisoner incarcerated in this judicial district shall be assigned to all magistrate judges on a rotational basis.

(g) All related cases involving the same parties shall be assigned to the same magistrate judge.

(2) Social Security Cases. Social Security cases shall be assigned to the full-time magistrate judges on a rotational basis without regard to division of filing.

(3) Post-Conviction Review and Cases Arising Out of Confinement. Petitions for habeas corpus relief, mandamus relief, and civil rights cases described in Local Civ. Rule 73.02(B)(2)(c) and (d) (D.S.C.) shall be assigned to full-time magistrate judges on a rotational basis without regard to division of filing.

(4) Other Cases Arising Out of the Criminal Process. Civil rights cases arising out of the criminal process that do not involve the potential release from custody or the general conditions of confinement, such as those relating to arrest or criminal process, shall be assigned on a divisional basis to a full-time magistrate judge.

(5) Employment Discrimination Cases. Employment discrimination cases shall be assigned in the division where they are filed except as necessary for caseload equalization.

(6) Pro Se Litigants With Prior Cases. New cases filed by pro se litigants with prior cases shall, if possible, be assigned to the magistrate judge and district judge to whom the prior case was assigned unless the prior case was assigned as a related case.

Nothing in this subsection shall limit the district-wide jurisdiction of a magistrate judge, prohibit a district judge from assigning a specific matter to a specific magistrate judge or prohibit the reassignment of a specific matter between magistrate judges on the concurrence of the magistrate judges and district judge involved.

(D) General. Nothing in these rules shall preclude the court or a district judge from reserving any proceeding for conduct by a district judge, rather than a magistrate judge. The court, moreover, may by order modify the method of assigning proceedings to a magistrate judge as changing conditions may warrant.