A person clothed with power as a public civil officer; a public civil officer invested with the executive government, or some branch of it.

in the federal court system, this is a person who is appointed to serve as a representative of the court and is often given many responsibilities that would otherwise be performed by the federal judge

A person who presides over Local Courts. Local Courts deal with small debts, less serious crimes, inquests into violent and unexplained deaths and investigations into whether a person may have committed a serious crime (see Committal Proceedings). Magistrates are addressed as "Your Worship".

A judicial officer having the power to issue arrest warrants and find probable cause at preliminary hearings. (Compare commissioner, judge, referee.)