Brown v. United States

Background

Alice Brown initially consented to have a magistrate judge handle the case on December 30, 2016. Magistrate Judge Nandor Vadas was then presiding. After Judge Vadas retired, the case was reassigned to Magistrate Judge Robert Illman.

At a December 5, 2017 case-management conference, Brown orally moved to withdraw her consent. She explained that she had consented based on her view of Judge Vadas’s experience. She said she had previously experienced what she considered unfair treatment from a newly elected state-court judge in a matter involving illegal camping, including the denial of requests to present witnesses and evidence concerning her claimed constitutional right to refuse an unreasonable search of her van. Brown said she did not want to go through a similar process before an inexperienced judge.

The Ninth Circuit later sent the matter back so a district judge could decide Brown’s motion in the first instance. Judge Illston considered the transcript of the December 5, 2017 conference.

Legal standard

Under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(4), a court may end a civil case’s assignment to a magistrate judge for good cause on the court’s own motion or when a party shows extraordinary circumstances. The court described this as a difficult standard intended to prevent gamesmanship. Relevant considerations include whether the original consent was voluntary and not forced. Dissatisfaction with a magistrate judge’s decision or unsupported accusations of judicial bias are not enough.

Ruling

Judge Susan Illston concluded that Brown had not shown extraordinary circumstances warranting withdrawal of consent. The court viewed Brown’s stated reason—a bad experience with a different judge whom she considered inexperienced—as similar to an unsupported accusation of judicial bias. Brown did not argue that her consent was coerced or involuntary, and she presented no evidence of extraordinary circumstances.

The court therefore denied Brown’s motion to withdraw consent to magistrate jurisdiction. Consistent with the Ninth Circuit’s order, Judge Illston directed the clerk to reassign the case to Magistrate Judge Robert Illman for further proceedings.