Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

Arbitrate, advise, adjudicate, or administer justice in a court of law. May sentence defendant in criminal cases according to government statutes. May determine liability of defendant in civil cases. May issue marriage licenses and perform wedding ceremonies.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Perform wedding ceremonies.

• Impose restrictions upon parties in civil cases until trials can be held.

• Supervise other judges, court officers, and the court's administrative staff.

• Settle disputes between opposing attorneys.

• Participate in judicial tribunals to help resolve disputes.

• Grant divorces and divide assets between spouses.

• Award compensation for damages to litigants in civil cases in relation to findings by juries or by the court.

• Write decisions on cases.

• Conduct preliminary hearings to decide issues such as whether there is reasonable and probable cause to hold defendants in felony cases.

• Research legal issues and write opinions on the issues.

Back to top

Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

• Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

• Education: A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

• Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

• Examples: These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, physicists, school psychologists, and surgeons.

• Svp range: (8.0 and above)

Back to top

Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Therapy and Counseling
  Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Back to top

Skills

Browse Skills

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Persuasion
  Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Negotiation
  Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Back to top

Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Back to top

Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
  Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

• Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
  Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Analyzing Data or Information
  Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Back to top

Work Context

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Frequency of Decision Making
  How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

Back to top

Interests

Browse Interests

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Back to top

Work Styles

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

Back to top

Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Social Status
  Workers on this job are looked up to by others in their company and their community.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

Back to top