(a) District Court Commissioners and Full-Time Standing Magistrates, Examiners, and Auditors. This Code applies in its entirety to District Court Commissioners and full-time standing magistrates, examiners, and auditors.

(b) Part-Time Standing Magistrates, Examiners, and Auditors. Except as otherwise provided in a specific Rule, this Code applies in its entirety to part-time standing magistrates, examiners, and auditors.

(c) Special Magistrates, Examiners, and Auditors. During the period of their serving in that capacity, special magistrates, examiners, and auditors are subject only to Rules 18-200.1 through 18-202.16, to Rule 18-203.5, and to such of the Comments to those Rules as are relevant, given the limited duration of the service. Special magistrates, examiners, and auditors shall, however, on request of a party or the appointing authority, disclose any extra-official activity or interests covered by the other Rules in this Code that may be grounds for a motion to recuse under Rule 18-202.11.

Committee note: District Court Commissioners, despite the number of hours they may actually be on duty, are regarded as full-time judicial appointees. Auditors, examiners, and magistrates may fall into several categories.

Under Code, Courts Article, § 2-102, all courts may appoint a magistrate, examiner, or auditor in “a specific proceeding.” Under Code, Courts Article, § 2-501, the judges of the circuit courts have more general authority to employ magistrates, examiners, and auditors. That authority is extended and made more specific in Rules 2-541 (Magistrates), 2-542 (Examiners), and 2-543 (Auditors).

Rules 2-541, 2-542, and 2-543 create two categories of magistrates, examiners, and auditors--standing and special. Standing magistrates, examiners, and auditors are employed to deal with whatever cases are referred to them on an on-going basis, but their employment by the court may be full-time or part-time. Special magistrates, examiners, and auditors are appointed “for a particular action,” and thus, like appointments made under Code, Courts Article, § 2-102, their service is limited to the particular action or proceeding. During that period of service, however, it is possible that they may work full-time or part-time, as necessary or as directed by the court. A magistrate, examiner, or auditor may therefore be standing full-time, standing part-time, special full-time, or special part-time.

This Code, in its entirety, applies to District Court Commissioners and full-time standing magistrates, examiners, and auditors. Because their employment by the court is full-time and more-or-less permanent, it is appropriate to limit some of their extra-official activities in the same manner as judges. Standing magistrates, examiners, and auditors who work only part-time but whose employment is also more-or-less permanent and who handle whatever cases are referred to them also need to be subject to most of the requirements and limitations in the Code, but it is impractical to preclude them from engaging in other lawful remunerative activities, such as practicing law or accounting or providing ADR services. They are subject to the entire Code, except as provided in specific Rules. Special magistrates, examiners, and auditors, appointed for only one proceeding, are subject to those Rules governing such things as fairness, impartiality, integrity, and diligence during the period of their service, but, with the exception of Rule 18-203.5, it is impractical and unnecessary to subject them across-the-board to Rules 18-203.1 through 18-204.5 (political and extra-official activities), provided that, upon request of a party or the appointing authority, they disclose any activity or interest that may be cause for recusal.

Source: This Rule is derived from the Application Section of former Rule 16-814 (2016).