D.N.D. Civ. L.R. 72.1

Except as hereinafter provided, a United States magistrate judge appointed in this district is

authorized and designated to exercise powers and duties consistent with the United States

Constitution, 28 U.S.C. ' 636, other statutes as may be applicable, and the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure. These powers and duties include, but are not limited to, those enumerated in this rule.

(A) ASSIGNMENT OF MATTERS TO MAGISTRATE JUDGES

The clerk will assign cases or duties in a case to a magistrate judge and allocate duties

among the magistrate judges of the court in accordance with this rule, standing orders of

the court, the court’s Plan for Direct Assignment of Civil Cases to a Magistrate Judge, or

by special reference of a district judge, which reference may be by formal order or informal

request. This rule does not preclude a district judge from reserving a proceeding for

decision of a district judge rather than a magistrate judge. Assignment of duties or cases to

a magistrate judge will generally be based on geographic location of the magistrate judge’s

chambers.

(B) DUTIES IN CIVIL MATTERS

The magistrate judges of this court are authorized and designated to exercise the following

duties in civil matters:

(1) Conduct case management matters, including supervising discovery and holding

status conferences, scheduling conferences, and final pretrial conferences;

(2) Conduct Alternative Dispute Resolution proceedings, including mediation and

settlement conferences, early neutral evaluation, mini-trials, and summary jury

trials;

(3) Rule on all non-dispositive motions (28 U.S.C. ' 636(b)(1)(A)) unless otherwise

directed by a district judge;

(4) Rule on dispositive motions (28 U.S.C. ' 636(b)(1)(B)) by issuing a report and

recommendations upon designation by a district judge, or by final order and

judgment upon consent of all parties (28 U.S.C. ' 636(c)) for final disposition of

the motion (as opposed to disposition of the entire case) by a magistrate judge;

Effective October 6, 2025

(5) Conduct all proceedings in cases brought by prisoners challenging conditions of

confinement, including conducting bench trials and issuing a report and

recommendations to the district judge (28 U.S.C. ' 636(b)(1)(B)) (if all parties do

not consent to final disposition by the magistrate judge);

(6) Conduct all pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings and enter final judgment upon

consent of all parties (28 U.S.C. ' 636(c));

(7) Serve as a special master upon designation by a district judge;

(8) Conduct jury voir dire and selection upon direction of a district judge, and in the

absence of the trial judge, preside over return of jury verdicts;

(9) Conduct all proceedings in cases seeking post-conviction review under 28 U.S.C.

'' 2254 or 2241 and 25 U.S.C. ' 1303, including issuing a report and

recommendations to a district judge (28 U.S.C. ' 636(b)(1)(B)) or entering final

judgment upon consent of all parties (28 U.S.C. ' 636(c));

(10) Conduct proceedings under 28 U.S.C. ' 1782 with respect to foreign tribunals and

to litigants before those tribunals;

(11) Issue statutory administrative inspection or search warrants on determination of

probable cause;

(12) Preside over naturalization ceremonies and administer the oath as required by 8

U.S.C. ' 1448(a);

(13) Conduct examination of judgment debtors in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 69;

and

(14) Authorize alternative process servers under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4 and 4.1 and service of

process on an absent defendant under 28 U.S.C. ' 1655.

(C) CIVIL CASE CONSENT PROCEDURE

(1) NOTICE UPON FILING OF COMPLAINT

For civil cases initially assigned to a district judge, the clerk must notify the parties

that the parties may consent to a magistrate judge conducting any or all proceedings

in the case and ordering the entry of final judgment (28 U.S.C. ' 636(c)). Upon the

filing of the complaint, the clerk will provide notice and consent forms (AO-85

Effective October 6, 2025

form) to the plaintiff, who in turn must serve them upon the defendants together

with the summons and complaint.

In preparing their proposed Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b) scheduling plan, the parties must

discuss whether they will unanimously consent to disposition by a magistrate judge.

In their proposed plan, the parties must state whether they unanimously consent and

must not identify which parties decline to consent.

If all parties consent to a magistrate judge conducting all proceedings and entering

final judgment, the case will be reassigned for disposition to the magistrate judge

who served as the case manager or to another magistrate judge as may be designated

by the district judge making the reassignment.

(2) DIRECT ASSIGNMENT

A percentage of civil cases are assigned to magistrate judges in accordance with the

court’s Plan for Direct Assignment of Civil Cases to a Magistrate Judge.

(3) LATER CONSENT

Notwithstanding an initial decision declining to consent, the parties may later

consent to a magistrate judge conducting any or all proceedings and ordering entry

of final judgment.

(D) REVIEW AND APPEAL

(1) APPEAL FROM JUDGMENTS IN CIVIL CONSENT CASES

Upon entry of judgment by a magistrate judge in a civil consent case, an appeal lies

directly to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in the same manner as an appeal

from other judgments of a district court.

(2) OBJECTION TO NON-DISPOSITIVE ORDER

A party may object to a magistrate judge’s determination of a non-dispositive

matter (other than in a civil consent case) within fourteen (14) days after being

served with a copy of the magistrate judge’s order unless the magistrate judge

orders a different time (28 U.S.C. ' 636(b)(1)(A) & Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a)). The

objecting party must serve and file a written objection, which must specifically

designate the order or part of the order from which the objection is taken and the

grounds for the objection. The adverse party has seven (7) days after service and

Effective October 6, 2025

filing of the objection to serve and file a response. The objection and the response

may not exceed twenty (20) pages. A reply is not permitted.

The party filing an objection must file a transcript of a hearing during which the

magistrate judge made findings of fact. With leave of court, the party may rely on

an audio recording of the hearing in lieu of a transcript.

A district judge must consider the objection and set aside any portion of the

magistrate judge’s order found to be clearly erroneous or contrary to law.

Filing an objection does not stay the magistrate judge’s order. A request to stay a

magistrate judge’s order pending objection must be made to the magistrate judge

with notice to all parties.

(3) OBJECTION TO REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A party may object to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendations on a

dispositive matter within fourteen (14) days after being served with the report and

recommendations unless the magistrate judge orders a different time (28 U.S.C. '

636(b)(1)(B) & Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)).

The objecting party must serve and file written objections, which must identify the

portions of the proposed findings, recommendations, or report to which objections

are made and the basis for the objections. The party filing objections must file a

transcript of any evidentiary proceeding related to the report and recommendations.

With leave of court, the party may rely on an audio recording of the hearing in lieu

of a transcript.

A party may respond to an objection as prescribed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2). A

reply is not permitted.

The objection and the response may not exceed twenty (20) pages.

A district judge must make a de novo determination of those portions of the report

and recommendations to which a party makes specific objections and may accept,

reject, or modify in whole or in part the magistrate judge’s findings or

recommendations. The district judge will generally not conduct a hearing but, in

appropriate circumstances, may receive further evidence, recall witnesses, or

recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions.

Effective October 6, 2025