§ 35-3-7 — Jurisdiction; disqualification of magistrate

A. Whenever a party to any civil or criminal action or proceeding of any kind files a statement of disqualification, the magistrate's jurisdiction over the cause terminates immediately. The statement is effective only if filed no later than fifteen days after the date the answer is filed in a civil action or no later than fifteen days after the date the defendant is arraigned in a criminal action. B. Upon receipt of a notice of disqualification, the magistrate or clerk of the magistrate court shall give written notice to the other parties to the action. Upon failure of counsel for all parties to file a stipulation within ten days of the filing of a statement of disqualification naming another magistrate judge in the district to try the cause, the presiding magistrate judge of the district shall as chosen by random selection designate another judge to try the cause. In the event all magistrates in the district are disqualified under the provisions of this section the disqualified magistrate shall, on the eleventh day thereafter, certify the fact by letter to the district court of the county in which the action is pending, and the district court shall designate another magistrate to conduct any further proceedings. The district court shall send notice of its designation to the parties or their counsel, to the disqualified magistrate and to the designated magistrate. C. Any magistrate who willfully attempts or presumes to act as magistrate in an action after disqualification is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be removed from office.

Legislative History

1953 Comp., § 36-3-7, enacted by Laws 1968, ch. 62, § 52; 1983, ch. 88, § 1.