as in judge
a public official having authority to decide questions of law
chose to take their case before the local magistrate
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Recent Examples of magistrate
When are magistrates going to keep bad guys behind bars?
—
Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 Mar. 2026
When a legislator files a claim bill on behalf of the injured person, staff attorneys for the House and Senate act as a magistrate, and hold a hearing based on evidence from the trial or settlement, and beyond.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
In addition to probable cause and specificity requirements, the Fourth Amendment requires a warrant to be signed by a neutral judge or magistrate to ensure an independent check on law enforcement.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
But a magistrate judge rejected five of the arrest warrants, including those against the journalists, for a lack of probable cause.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for magistrate
Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 Mar. 2026
When a legislator files a claim bill on behalf of the injured person, staff attorneys for the House and Senate act as a magistrate, and hold a hearing based on evidence from the trial or settlement, and beyond.
—Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
In addition to probable cause and specificity requirements, the Fourth Amendment requires a warrant to be signed by a neutral judge or magistrate to ensure an independent check on law enforcement.
—Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
But a magistrate judge rejected five of the arrest warrants, including those against the journalists, for a lack of probable cause.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for magistrate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for magistrate
Noun
-
The judge scheduled a court hearing for April 2 to consider approving the deal.—
Luc Cohen,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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The deal must still be approved by a judge.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Federal officials can then query that data and unmask the identities of Americans whose communications have been collected, a process critics say creates a backdoor way to search private citizens’ information without court approval.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
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Agee is due back in court on March 26 for a probable cause conference and on April 2 for a preliminary examination.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Magistrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/magistrate. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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