Powers of district court magistrate generally

Only to the extent expressly authorized by the chief judge, presiding judge, or only judge of the district court district, a district court magistrate may do 1 or more of the following: (a) Accept an admission of responsibility, decide a motion to set aside a default or withdraw an admission, and order civil sanctions for a civil infraction and order an appropriate civil sanction permitted by the statute or ordinance defining the act or omission. (b) Accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and impose sentence for a misdemeanor or ordinance violation punishable by a fine and which is not punishable by imprisonment by the terms of the statute or ordinance creating the offense.