Local Rule Civil Rule 73.1: Special Provision for the Disposition of Civil Cases by a Magistrate Judge on Consent of the Parties 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(2)

Civil Rule 73.1 Special Provision for the Disposition of Civil Cases by a Magistrate Judge on Consent of the Parties 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(2) a. Notice. The Clerk must notify the parties in all civil cases that they may consent to have a magistrate judge conduct any or all proceedings in the case and order the entry of a final judgment. Such notice must be handed or mailed to the plaintiff or plaintiff's representative at the time an action is filed and to other parties as attachments to copies of the complaint and summons when served. Additional notices may be furnished to the parties at later stages of the proceedings, and may be included with pretrial notices and instructions. b. Execution of Consent. The Clerk must not accept a consent form unless it has been signed by all the parties in a case. The plaintiff must be responsible for securing the execution of a consent form by the parties and for filing such form with the Clerk. No consent form will be made available, nor will its contents be made known to any judicial officer, unless all parties have consented to the reference to a magistrate judge. A district or magistrate judge may advise the parties of the availability of a magistrate judge to try a civil case or hear a civil motion by consent. However, no action must be taken to effect the voluntariness of the parties to consent or lack of consent to the magistrate judge. The district judge must also advise the parties that they are free to withhold consent without adverse substantive consequences.