Federal Courts Crack Down on 'Judge Shopping' Practices

The Judicial Conference of the United States has announced a new policy that prevents plaintiffs from choosing the judge who will hear their case in federal court, aiming to eliminate the appearance of "judge shopping." This change is seen as a victory for the Biden administration and aims to prevent cases from being heard by outlier judges with partisan views. The new policy applies to civil actions seeking to bar or mandate state or federal actions and will assign judges through a district-wide random selection process, impacting cases involving challenges to federal or state policies. While this change may not eliminate all judge shopping, it aims to address concerns about the fairness of federal litigation.