Magistrate judges are more variable, not subject to Senate confirmation, do not serve for life, render decisions that very often are different in character from those of regular judges-- focusing more on "trees" than "forest". Without consent, their scope of duties is limited and they cannot simply swap in for a district judge. They actually are supervised by a district judge, and appeals, as it were, are directed to that officer not an appellate court.

In a nutshell, I used quotes to indicate how the position was described by the article. These judidical officers are not interchangeable with judges in the federal system, and in my experience this distinction is relevant to both why this person issued the kind of decision they did, and what it means for confidence in the US justice system.