Rule 313 Background Investigation of Nominee.

Before someone can be appointed as a magistrate judge, the court must have that person fully checked out first. The Department of Justice, through the Attorney General's Office, runs this background check and looks at the past ten years of the nominee's history.

The check has to include reports from several agencies. These include the Virgin Islands Department of Finance, the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the United States Internal Revenue Service. This helps confirm the person has a clean financial and tax history.

On top of these specific reports, the investigation also includes whatever other screening steps are normally used when the court reviews nominees for Superior Court judge positions. The goal is to make sure anyone chosen for this job has been carefully reviewed before they take on the role.