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US Judge Shopping Curb Thwarted as Texas Court Resists
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/texas-court-eyed-for-judge-shopping-wont-alter-case-assignmentsApril 1, 2024, 10:43 AM EDT; Updated: April 1, 2024, 4:56 PM EDT
US Judge Shopping Curb Thwarted as Texas Court Resists (3)
Jacqueline Thomsen
A Northern Texas federal court that has come under fire for judge shopping practices by litigants won’t change its case assignment policies — leaving few other plausible pathways to address the issue.
[...]
The Northern District in particular has been criticized for its case assignment policies that result in lawsuits being filed in certain divisions automatically being heard by specific judges. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who hears all civil cases filed in Amarillo, in particular has seen his court become the focus of scrutiny over judge shopping, as conservatives file challenges there including one to the abortion pill mifepristone.
The federal judiciary’s policy-making body, the Judicial Conference, last month adopted a policy urging courts to change their case assignment procedures to avoid litigants filing in courts where they think they’re more likely to have a favorable outcome. In guidance issued by a judicial committee, district courts were told that cases seeking national or state-wide relief should be randomly assigned throughout the full district.
In the letter released Monday, Godbey wrote that he and the other judges in his district met on March 27, and the “consensus was not to make any change to our case assignment process at this time.”
[...]
US Judge Shopping Curb Thwarted as Texas Court Resists (3)
Jacqueline Thomsen
A Northern Texas federal court that has come under fire for judge shopping practices by litigants won’t change its case assignment policies — leaving few other plausible pathways to address the issue.
[...]
The Northern District in particular has been criticized for its case assignment policies that result in lawsuits being filed in certain divisions automatically being heard by specific judges. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who hears all civil cases filed in Amarillo, in particular has seen his court become the focus of scrutiny over judge shopping, as conservatives file challenges there including one to the abortion pill mifepristone.
The federal judiciary’s policy-making body, the Judicial Conference, last month adopted a policy urging courts to change their case assignment procedures to avoid litigants filing in courts where they think they’re more likely to have a favorable outcome. In guidance issued by a judicial committee, district courts were told that cases seeking national or state-wide relief should be randomly assigned throughout the full district.
In the letter released Monday, Godbey wrote that he and the other judges in his district met on March 27, and the “consensus was not to make any change to our case assignment process at this time.”
[...]
