US Judge Shopping Curb Thwarted as Texas Court Resists (3)

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.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday the “Senate will consider legislative options” after US Chief District Judge David Godbey told him in a letter that Northern District assignment rules would stay in place.
However, partisan divisions make it unlikely that Congress could pass a bill addressing judge shopping.

“It’s hard to imagine legislation getting out of Congress—even though it should be a no-brainer,” said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

That leaves a Supreme Court decision addressing the topic or a lengthy rulemaking process among the only viable paths for a nationwide curb, and there’s disagreement within the judiciary whether it even have the authority to adopt such a measure.

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.”

Schumer had urged Godbey in a March 21 letter to adopt such a policy “as soon as possible.” The top Senate Democrat referenced a previous letter exchange with the judge, saying the “logistical issues” that were raised then wouldn’t apply here, as only a few civil cases would be affected by the change.

Some top Senate Republicans urged chief judges to ignore the policy when it was initially thought to be mandatory. In a follow-up letter to top judiciary officials also sent last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others said they were “pleased that the judiciary has chosen not to interfere in the legislative process.”

A federal judiciary advisory committee is separately weighing a rule addressing forum shopping. However, during its most recent public meeting in January, members raised concerns that they might lack the authority to pass such a rule, but said they should keep studying the issue in case Congress decides to take action on it. A federal statute currently says that case assignment rules are set by chief district judges.

The Justice Department has pushed back against the idea the committee lacks the authority to create such a rule, and has argued that the courts could adopt a number of proposed policies to address judge shopping worries.

Amanda Shanor, assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has called for such a rule to be implemented. She said that a binding rule can be created under an act that allows the Supreme Court to set the rules of procedure for federal courts.

“The actions of the Northern District of Texas clearly demonstrate that a rule is still needed despite the policy,” Shanor said.

Vladeck said that he thinks the focus might shift to the Supreme Court, either through its rulings or its role in changing the federal rules on how civil cases proceed through courts. “But the more the Northern District becomes an outlier nationwide, the more I have to think it’s only underscoring why random assignment is better for all involved,” he added.