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[Just Saying]

228. I don't think it's a myth as much as confusion over the term.

Zimmerman himself wrote on his application to become a Sherriff that his father was a former magistrate judge for the Virginia Supreme Court.

And in some states magistrates do hear small cases.

His father was a full time magistrate working on Virginia's court system from 2000 until 2006.

This information on magistrates should clear up some of the confusion:

Magistrate System

About
In many instances, a citizen's first contact with Virginia’s Judicial System comes through the office of the Magistrate. A principal function of the magistrate is to provide an independent, unbiased review of complaints of criminal conduct brought to the office by law enforcement or the general public. Magistrate duties include issuing various types of processes such as arrest warrants, summonses, bonds, search warrants, subpoenas, and certain civil warrants. Magistrates also conduct bail hearings in instances in which an individual is arrested on a warrant charging him or her with a criminal offense. Magistrates provide services on an around-the-clock basis, conducting hearings in person or through the use of videoconferencing systems.

The magistrate system for the Commonwealth is divided into eight regions, and each magistrate is authorized to exercise his or her powers throughout the magisterial region for which he or she is appointed. Each region is comprised of between three and five judicial districts. There are magistrate offices located throughout Virginia, including at least one in each of Virginia’s 32 judicial districts.

http://www.courts.state.va.us/courtadmin/aoc/djs/programs/mag/about.html