TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on May 30, 2023

Congressional Democrats are pursuing legislation to bar "judge shopping," where lawsuits are filed in small courts to increase their chances of being assigned to sympathetic judges, reported Reuters. The lawmakers sponsoring the bill said it was spurred by a recent ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, limiting access to the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide. The new bill, introduced in the House by Rep. Deborah Ross, D-North Carolina, would require federal district courts to ensure that no judge has a greater than 25% chance of being assigned a civil case. Courts could designate judges from adjacent districts in the same state to serve in districts with fewer than four judges.