Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

Backing. Endorsement, esp. Of a warrant by a magistrate.

See back (4).

Court of Magistrates and Freeholders

Hist. A South Carolina court with criminal jurisdiction over alleged offenses committed by slaves and free persons of color.

Magistrate

n 1.The highestranking official in a government, such as the king in a monarchy, the president in a republic, or the governor in a state. - Also termed chief magistrate; first magistrate. 2. A local official who possesses whatever power is specified in the appointment or statutory grant of authority. 3. A judicial officer with strictly limited jurisdiction and authority, often on the local level and often restricted to criminal cases. Cf. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. - magisterial (maj-astir-ee-al), adj.

Magistrate Judge

U.S. See UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

U.S. Magistrate

See UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

United States Magistrate Judge

A federal judicial officer who hears civil and criminal pretrial matters and who may conduct civil trials or criminal misdemeanor trials. 28 USCA §§ 631-639. - Also termed federal magistrate and (before 1990) United States Magistrate.

accusation,n. 1. A formal charge of criminal wrongdoing. 0 The accusation is usu. presenter) to a court or magistrate having jurisdiction tf) inquire into the alleged crime. 2. An informs i statement

chief magistrate

See MAGISTRATE

committing magistrate

A judicial officer who conducts preliminary criminal hearings and may order that a defendant be released for lack of evidence, sent to jail to await trial, or released on bail. See examining court under COURT.

district-court magistrate

In some states, a quasi judicial officer given the power to set bail, accept bond, accept guilty pleas, impose sentences for traffic violations and similar offenses, and conduct informal hearings on civil infractions.

federal magistrate

See UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

first magistrate.

See MAGISTRATE (1).

investigating magistrate

A quasi judicial officer responsible for examining and sometimes ruling on certain aspects of a criminal proceeding before it comes before a judge. "The institution of the investigating magistrate is another measure for preserving the integrity of the law at the level of enforcement. In this case the measure is directed not toward curing the evils of a lax or sporadic enforcement, but toward the evils of an opposite nature, those resulting from an excess of zeal on the part of the prosecutor. Under the system in question, before a criminal charge may be brought before the regular courts it must be investigated by a special official and, in effect, certified as deserving trial in court. The investigating magistrate is thus a kind of quasi judge standing halfway between the prosecutor and the regular court. The danger of the institution lies precisely in this twilight zone of function which it occupies. The certification of a case for trial inevitably tends to confirm the criminal charge against the suspect, thus creating what may amount in practice to a strong presumption of guilt. The element of prejudgment involved constitutes a threat to the integrity of the trial in open court; the accused has, in effect, had a kind of half-trial in advance of the real trial, and this half-trial is conducted, not before but by a kind of half-judge who acts essentially as an inquisitorial court. In those countries where it is a part of the legal system, the role of the investigating magistrate continues to be a subject of some debate, and even where it is generally accepted, there is always some lingering concern lest it become the subject of inconspicuous abuse." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 38-39 (1968).

magistrate's court

See COURT

metropolitan stipendiary magistrate

English law. A stipendiary magistrate with jurisdiction in inner London areas. See stipendiary magistrate.

police magistrate

See MAGISTRATE.

stipendiary magistrate

English law. A salaried magistrate that per-forms either in the place of or along with Justices of the Peace, and is appointed from barristers and solicitors of seven years standing.