For the first time since the early 1980s, the Southern District of Indiana has gotten approval to hire a new full-time federal magistrate. The U.S. Judicial Conference, which is the policy-making arm of the federal court system, approved during its annual fall meeting on Tuesday the Indianapolis-based magistrate spot along with three others throughout the country.
In denying summary judgment for either party in a dispute involving the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. District judge
noted the issue appears to be one of first impression in the 7th Circuit.
More than 50 people have applied to become the next magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Within a year, the federal court system that covers the southern half of Indiana could have two new full-time magistrates, one being a newly created position that would be the first creation of its kind in almost three decades.