PUBLIC NOTICE FOR APPOINTMENT OF A NEW MAGISTRATE JUDGE POSITION OVERVIEW The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full time United States magistrate judge for the Southern District of West Virginia at Bluefield, West Virginia. The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging: (1) conduct of most preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; (2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; (3) conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from a district judge; and (4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants. The basic authority of a United States magistrate judge is specified in 28 U.S.C. ? 636. The current annual salary of the position is $185,012.00. The term of office is eight (8) years. QUALIFICATIONS To be qualified for appointment as a U.S. magistrate judge, an applicant must: 1. Be, and have been for at least five years, a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands of the United States; 2. Have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutes authorized); 3. Be competent to perform the duties of the office, of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature, committed to equal justice under the law, in good health, patient, courteous, and capable of deliberation and decisiveness when required to act on his or her own reason and judgment; 4. Not be related by blood or marriage to a judge of the appointing court or courts, within the degrees specified in 28 U.S.C. ? 458, at the time of the initial appointment; and 5. In the case of an initial appointment, not be seventy years of age or older. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT As a further condition of employment, the successful candidate is required to reside in a county located in either the Bluefield or Beckley divisions, which include: McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Greenbrier, Raleigh, Summers, or Wyoming. The residence must be reasonably accessible to either courthouse at Bluefield or Beckley. Travel and relocation expenses will not be reimbursed. APPLICATION PROCESS A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other members of the community will review all applicants and recommend to the Judges of the District Court in confidence the five (5) persons it considers best qualified. The Court will make the appointment following an FBI full field investigation and an IRS tax check of the applicant selected by the Court for appointment. An affirmative effort will be made to give due consideration to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, age (40 and over), gender, religion, national origin, or disability. Application forms and more information on the magistrate judge position in this Court may be obtained on the Court’s Internet website at www.wvsd.uscourts.gov. Applications must be submitted only by applicants personally and must be received by 5:00 p.m. (EST), Monday, July 22, 2015. Application packets should include a cover letter, resume, application, letters of recommendation, and any supporting documents. The cover letter is limited to two (2) pages and should address why you want to be a United States Magistrate Judge. Please do not include more than three (3) letters of recommendation. To ensure impartiality, please do not have references contact the Court or members of the Merit Selection Panel directly. Each applicant shall submit the original application and eight (8) copies in an envelope marked “Confidential” to Teresa L. Deppner, Clerk, of the U. S. District Court, Room 2400, 300 Virginia Street, East, Charleston, WV 25301. All applications will be kept confidential, unless the applicant consents to disclosure, and all applications will be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the Judges of the District Court. The panel’s deliberations will remain confidential. All information provided by applicants is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false statements or omission(s) of information on any application materials may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after being employed. The Southern District of West Virginia reserves the right to amend or withdraw any announcement without written notice to applicants. The Southern District of West Virginia reserves the right to conduct interviews at any time prior to or after the closing date for receipt of applications.