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An interesting question regarding the Trump search warrant
Can a federal magistrate judge issue a search warrant? Magistrate judges aren't nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They are chosen from among attorneys by the judges of the district. They can't try a civil case unless both parties agree, nor any criminal felony or misdemeanor above a petty offense. In a civil case, they can *recommend* what the district judge should do on a motion, but cannot decide it. As the article points out, until recently they weren't called "magistrate judges," but simply "magistrates."
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May I respectfully suggest that an even more immediate question is how this particular Magistrate Judge can possibly be the "neutral and detached magistrate*" required by U.S. Supreme Court opinions? see, Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S.10 (1948).
*"Magistrate" used generically. Recall that the President of the United States was often called "the chief magistrate" during the first hundred years of the republic. Fed.R.Cr.P. 41 requires a "judicial officer".
When I was a Federal LEO (retired in 03), Federal magistrates could only try even the lowest level of violation - infractions - if the defendant agreed to allow his case to be heard before the magistrate. Defendants were offered the choice between having their case heard (and decided) then by the magistrate or put on the District Court calendar.