Opinion ID: 406499
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Magistrate's jurisdiction

Text: Magistrate Rule 2(c) provides in part: 17 If the defendant signs a written consent to be tried before the magistrate ..., the magistrate shall take the defendant's plea to the misdemeanor charge. 18 Defendant contends that once a defendant files a consent to be tried before a magistrate, Rule 2(c) makes the magistrate's jurisdiction mandatory. He contends that his conviction should be reversed because he filed a Rule 2(c) consent, but was tried in district court over his objections. We disagree. 19 The identical argument under virtually identical facts was raised and rejected in United States v. Gonzalez-Cervantes, 668 F.2d 1073 (9th Cir. 1981). In that case the issue was whether a juvenile who consents to a trial before a magistrate has an absolute right to be tried or to enter a plea before a magistrate. Id. at 1074. We decided that he did not. Gonzalez-Cervantes controls this case. The district judge did not err in hearing the matter upon its re-transfer from the magistrate.