Gonzalez v. United States

If the parties consent, federal magistrate judges may preside over the voir dire and selection of prospective jurors in a felony criminal trial. Peretz v. United States, 501 U. S. 923, 933 (1991). This case presents the question whether it suffices for counsel alone to consent to the magistrate judge’s role in presiding over voir dire and jury selection or whether the defendant must give his or her own consent.

*244Homero Gonzalez was charged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on five felony-drug offense counts. He is the petitioner here. At the outset of jury…