The Judge must have no personal or financial interest in the decisions made by the Judge. Nor should the Judge’s family benefit from the Judge’s decisions.
One of the main jobs of the Magistrate Judge is to set bond for persons who have been arrested.
Magistrate Court has authority to set bond amounts for most crimes.
Magistrate Court [...]
The following article was written by Judge Thomas and submitted for publication in the Fall 2008 edition of the Council of Magistrate Court Judges Newsletter.
As Magistrate Judges we see many opportunities to serve and try to improve our communities. But often our actions are remedial at best, and sometimes negative or punitive.
Our authority to conduct [...]
The following article was written by Judge Thomas and published statewide in the April 2006 edition of the Council of Magistrate Court Judges Newsletter.
Every party or person gets his “Day in Court.”
Allow the party to make his full statement, civilly and respectfully, so long as it is reasonably related to the matter before the court.
Never [...]