Born in Verona, North Dakota on June 3, 1927,[1] Magill served in the United States Navy as a seaman from 1945 to 1947.
[2] Following the recommendation of Senator Mark Andrews,[3] on January 21, 1986, Magill was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated by Judge Myron H. Bright.
[4] Magill wrote several opinions in the noted case of Black Hills Institute of Geological Research v. U.S. Dept.
[6] Over the course of his service, Magill also sat by designation on a total of six cases heard in three other circuits - the Third, Fifth, and Ninth.
[7] Among the cases that Magill heard while sitting on the Ninth Circuit was Silveira v. Lockyer,[8] in which the court, with Magill concurring, ruled that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution did not guarantee individuals the right to bear arms.