r/amibeingdetained 6d ago

Anyone else never hear the term "magistrate" in their whole lives until they saw these videos and SC mentioning them? UNCLEAR

No actual person in my life has ever said that around me or to me, or adjacent to me

0 Upvotes

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

I actually have. I didn't say it didn't exist, I said I've never heard of it. Nobody where I'm at says that. They just say "judge" like everyone else. Judge was also used where I used to work (at a jail) and in all my schooling it was never used 

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

Except a magistrate is not exactly a judge.

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-magistrate-and-judge.html

A magistrate does not have to always have passed the bar.

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u/Remarkable_Peak9518 6d ago

There’s a Magistrate’s court two minutes from where I am. I’ve heard the term literally thousands of times and learned about them at school.

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u/Icy_Environment3663 6d ago

Quite a number of states use magistrates in their judicial systems. Depending on the state, the specific types of cases and actions handled by a magistrate may vary but they are around. The federal courts also commonly employ them for a variety of proceedings. But if you lived in a state which does not have magistrates then I can see where you might not be aware of their existence. But Florida, Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, and some other states all have magistrates.

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u/ranhayes 1d ago

I’ve dealt with magistrates a couple times over traffic issues.

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

Interesting! Thank you. Other people are being kinda sassy and idk why. For me it's never used irl or by anyone I've ever met. Just found it funny. I learned it through these people

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

You kinda phrased your question oddly.

Turns out that yes, many of us had heard of the term.

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

I mean.... this was simply a post about me never having heard the word before personally. Im sure others didn't know of it either. I don't think other people in the area I live really are aware of that much either

Never said it didn't exist or nobody heard of it

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

Welcome to Reddit, where no good deed goes unpunished.

1

u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

I wonder sometimes if I'm not weird enough to be on here

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

Oi, I resemble that remark!

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

You are violating my constitutional right to not get responded to. I am invoking my 15th amendment

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u/NotMyUsualLogin 6d ago

(Fetches taser, looks at door glass)

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

Officer! You are violating my right for individuals to not look through the glass at my car! It is article 8 in the articles of confederation! I am going to sue!

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u/roving1 6d ago

You'll get there, it just takes time.

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

Eh. I like being light hearted and having casual talk. So many on reddit are geared up to argue from the jump, reading stuff as rude or something. So many times I've seen people just want to argue. I'll be like "I have a different opinion. I domt want to continue this". And they just keep going 

Im just on here chilling you know. Nbd

1

u/Icy_Environment3663 4d ago

"So many on reddit are geared up to argue from the jump, reading stuff as rude or something."

No, we don't! Take that back!

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u/BanterPhobic 6d ago

In the UK where I live, Magistrates Court is the first step for most criminal cases (“summary offences” i.e. crimes punishable by small to moderate fines, community service etc are settled then and there, more serious offences get referred to a superior court). But I didn’t know that magistrates have a similar but distinct role in the US judiciary until I started following US courts in general and SovCits in particular online.

As far as I can tell, the SovCit understanding of the magistrate’s role is much like their understanding of the role of the sheriff, or the concept of common law - i.e. they think it means whatever they need it to mean at any given time.

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u/ChiefSlug30 6d ago

I believe the Canadian system is similar to the British.

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u/BanterPhobic 6d ago

Makes sense as the Canadian legal system is mostly derived from the British system (or at least the English and Welsh system, Scotland has its own somewhat distinct setup).

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u/HappySummerBreeze 6d ago

Did you not watch any English TV when you were a kid? Even the old musical Oliver mentioned a Magistrate.

It’s a pretty normal and common word here in Australia too, probably due to us being a colony.

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u/Next_Airport_7230 6d ago

No, never. And yeah I watched that one simpsons episode where they go there so i see how

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u/husbandbulges 6d ago

Shrug, pretty common in my state.

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u/cgoldberg 6d ago

I live in Massachusetts and unfortunately have been in front of a magistrate.

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u/Styrene_Addict1965 6d ago

We have magistrates in Pennsylvania. They're located all over.

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u/Expert_Security3636 6d ago

Kentucky has magistrates but they areike county commissioners, nothing u think still has them to try minoe cases in court.

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u/potato-shaped-nuts 6d ago

This guy has never listened to The Wall.

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u/flaginorout 6d ago

I think every local courthouse in Virginia has a magistrate.

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u/BlazePortraits 6d ago edited 6d ago

Everyone who ever had any contact with the courts, or saw movies with people having contact with courts, or heard the Kenny Loggins song, "I'm Alright" or the Pink Floyd song, "The Trial."

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u/HoneyIntrepid6709 5d ago

If you file charges or are arrested in WV, you see a magistrate.
In MD, if you are arrested, you see the commissioner. They decide your bail and/or put your butt in jail.
They are like judges.

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u/Next_Airport_7230 5d ago

Interesting. In MO it's literally just a judge. No clue what those other things are

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u/DistantKarma 6d ago

Up until about 1980, we had "Justice of the Peace" here in Florida, until they were grandfathered in and made judges.

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u/dogsop 6d ago

Texas has them. I see the cars occasionally but I don't really know anything about their role.

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u/ade425mxy 6d ago

Yeah I watched the bill as a kid in the 80s

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u/fusionsofwonder 5d ago

Yes, I've heard of them.

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u/GloInTheDarkUnicorn 5d ago

I had, but only in historical fiction.

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u/Tangurena 4d ago

My high school math teacher was a retired British magistrate (I went to high school in Ireland). He disliked me and constantly harassed me about all the dumb crap American lawyers got away with in US courts.

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u/pointytailofsatan 4d ago

It's like deacons in the Catholic church. They are like demi-priests. They can baptize, perform marriage, and a few more things. But they can't perform the "heavyweight" functions, like hear confessions, say Mass, or give absolution.

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u/Echale3 9h ago

I used to live next door to a local magistrate...

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u/BertPeopleErniePeopl 6d ago

No I've heard it.

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u/yobar 6d ago

Yeah, small towns mostly in the US.