All 3 Uses of

magistrate

in

The Chrysalids

He was still the largest landowner, he still continued to preach frequently on Sundays and to explain with practical clarity the laws and views held in heaven upon a variety of matters and practices, and, upon the appointed days, he administered the laws temporal, as a magistrate.†
Chpt 2

magistrate = judicial official

He investigated, and when he had collected evidence that it had not simply lost its tail in some way, but had never possessed one, he condemned it, and, in his capacity as a magistrate, ordered the inspector to make out a warrant for its destruction as an Offence.†
Chpt 4

It had been with very bad grace that he had chosen to make a public apology rather than resign his magistracy.†
Chpt 4 *

magistracy = judiciary

Definition:

a judge or judicial official

The exact meaning of magistrate varies widely depending upon the context. For example:

in the U.S. federal court: assists district court judges by handling minor offenses or administrative tasks such as preliminary hearings (often referred to as a magistrate judge rather than just a magistrate)
in some U.S. states: a judge in the state court
in France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and other civil law countries: a sitting magistrate is a judge and a standing magistrate is a prosecutor
in England: may be a volunteer without formal legal training who performs a judicial role with regard to minor matters
in ancient Rome: a powerful officer with both judicial and executive power