The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine regularly reviews its operations as part of its effort to employ its resources in the most effective and efficient way possible.  Based on a recent review and with guidance from the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System, which is charged with making recommendations to the Judicial Conference regarding the number of magistrate judges, location, and arrangements of magistrate judge positions in each judicial district, the Court has determined that litigants and the Court would benefit from an increase in the number of civil cases over which the District’s Magistrate Judges preside. 

To facilitate and encourage the increase, the Court has adopted a “Pilot Plan to Assign Civil Cases to U.S. Magistrate Judges”  The objective of the Plan is to encourage parties to consent more regularly to proceed before the Magistrate Judges in accordance with Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).  The Court believes that an increase in the number of consent cases would limit the possibility of delay in civil trials and provide the parties with more flexibility in scheduling at a time when the number of available Senior U.S. District Judges in the District has been reduced and the number of criminal trials has increased.  The Plan is consistent with the guidance of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System.  As noted in the Plan, the assignment of civil cases to Magistrate Judges pursuant to the Plan would be in addition to, and not a substitute for, the current consent process. The Court also encourages the parties to consent to the Magistrate Judges in cases that are initially assigned to a District Judge.