Federal magistrates are a joke. Shame on the federal prosecutors for agreeing to allow the case to be heard by one.

eh? what exactly is a federal magistrate, anyway, and why do we need them? i've honestly never heard of them before, and i thought i'd been paying attention up until now.

is this some sort of "lite" version of a federal court, instituted so the high'n'mighty can get off easily for stuff the rest of us would end up inna slammer if we did? or something semi-archaic originally created to save money over a "real" court, sort of like justices of the peace?

Who are these people who continue to give Barry the benefit of doubt? The guy has proven himself to be nothing more than a low-level crook. And yet he continues to get away with flaunting the law with behavior that would land us mere mortals in jail.

Here's the magistrate who said that his failure to file could have been an "innocent mistake."

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/robinson-deborah-bio.html

What a crock. Remind me of an old comedy bit that Steve Martin did about 30 years ago - how you can be a millionaire and never pay taxes. When the government comes to your door and says you haven't paid taxes, just tell them "I forgot." Apparently, this magistrate thinks that's a valid excuse. I can tell you that the IRS most certainly disagrees.

Basically, a federal magistrate is a local attorney who is always, ALWAYS, politically hooked up on a local level. They serve short terms (3-5 years unless re-appointed) and do the scut work that real Article III judges don't want to do (discovery disputes, Social Security appeals, settlement conferences, etc.). In order for a magistrate to handle an entire case, the parties have to agree to it. There are lots of other persnickity little rules about what they can and can't do, but I honestly don't know all of them.