type function in their review of petitions for writs of habeas corpus brought by state prisoners. Writs of 
habeas corpus are claims by state and federal prisoners who allege that the government is illegally confining 
them in violation of the federal constitution. The party who loses at the U.S. District Court can appeal the 
case in the court of appeals for the circuit in which the district court is located. These first appeals must be 
reviewed, and thus are referred to as appeals of right. 
United States Magistrate Courts 
U.S. Magistrate Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction in the federal court system, meaning that these 
legislatively-created courts do not have full judicial power. Congress first created the U.S. Magistrate Courts 
with the Federal Magistrate Act of 1968. Under the Act, federal magistrate judges assist district court judges 
by conducting pretrial proceedings, such as setting bail, issuing warrants, and conducting trials of federal 
misdemeanor crimes. There are more than five hundred Magistrate Judges who disposed of over one million 
matters. 
In the News: https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/data_tables/jb_s17_0930.2017.pdf) 
U.S. Magistrate Courts are “Article I Courts” as they owe their existence to an act of Congress, not the 
Constitution. Unlike Article III judges who hold lifetime appointments, Magistrate Judges, formerly referred 
to as “Magistrates” before the Judicial Improvement Act which took effect December 1, 1990, are appointed 
for eight-year terms. 
For a comprehensive review of the U.S. Magistrate Courts and U.S. Magistrate Judges 
see: http://www.fedbar.org/PDFs/A-Guide-to-the-Federal-Magistrate-Judge-System 
Court Assignment 
Watch season two of the popular Netflix series, Making a Murder which covers the appeals of the murder 
convictions of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey. Pay attention to the discussions among Brendan 
Dassey’s appellate team from Northwestern School of Law concerning the appeals process from the state courts 
through the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which convened en banc after a 2-1 panel decision finding 
Brendan Dassey’s confession was inadmissible. 
See 
also, http://involuntary.http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/
en_banc_7th_circuit_reinstates_brendan_dasseys_conviction_in_making_a_murde?icn=most_read 
• 
Write a 500-word response about what you saw during the appeals process and how it made you feel. 
Did you agree with it or disagree with it? Is this justice? 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
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