Law
Special Masters in Complex Litigation and Their Procedural Constraints
Quick fact
Federal judges regularly appoint special masters to manage massive discovery, compute damages, and even implement desegregation orders. However, under Rule 53, their authority is strictly limited – they cannot decide legal issues, and their findings must be reviewed by the judge before becoming final.
Why this is interesting
When a lawsuit involves thousands of plaintiffs or mountains of documents, a single judge can't handle it all alone. That's where a special master steps in – but who are they, and what can they really do?