Peretz v. United States
| Peretz v. United States | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 23, 1991 Decided June 27, 1991 | |
| Full case name | Peretz v. United States |
| Citations | 501 U.S. 923 (more) 111 S. Ct. 2661; 115 L. Ed. 2d 808 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant was charged with importing heroin. A federal magistrate conducted jury selection, and defendant acquiesced, raising no objection in the district court. On appeal, he contended that the magistrate's conducting jury selection violated his rights under Article III of the Constitution. The Second Circuit disagreed; cert. granted. |
| Holding | |
| If the parties consent, Article III and the Federal Magistrates Act allow a district court to delegate to a magistrate judge the responsibility for managing jury selection in a felony trial. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stevens, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter |
| Dissent | Marshall, joined by White, Blackmun |
| Dissent | Scalia |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. III, Federal Magistrates Act, 28 U.S.C. § 636 | |
Peretz v. United States, 501 U.S. 923 (1991), was a Supreme Court of the United States case. The Court affirmed that a defendant in a federal criminal trial on a felony charge must affirmatively object to the supervising of jury selection by a magistrate judge, ruling that it is not enough that the defendant merely acquiesce to the magistrate's involvement in his case for a court to reverse a conviction for this reason.