answer:I Googled a bit, and the first place I found with non-lawyer judges is the state of Georgia, where magistrates are elected, and they need a high school diploma. “To qualify as a magistrate, an individual must have resided in the county for at least one year preceding his or her term of office, be twenty-five years of age, and have a high school diploma” “Magistrate court jurisdiction includes civil claims of $15,000 or less, dispossessory writs, county ordinance violations, misdemeanor deposit account fraud (bad checks), preliminary hearings, issuance of summons, arrest warrants, and search warrants.” Link