Federal Courts Adopt New Policy in Crackdown on ‘Judge Shopping’ Tactic

The federal court system’s policymaking arm is cracking down on so-called “judge shopping,” with officials adopting a policy on March 12 aimed at bolstering random case assignment. The 26-member U.S. Judicial Conference adopted the new policy at its biannual meeting. Under the policy, a judge will be randomly assigned to cases, even in areas where locally filed cases have previously been heard by a single judge. This effectively prevents a system that officials say allows state attorneys general, activists, and companies filing lawsuits challenging government policies to pick and choose their judges in some cases. Known as “judge shopping,” the strategy typically means litigants ensure their cases are guaranteed to be heard by judges perceived to be sympathetic to their arguments....