A Democratic senator introduced what appears to be first-of-its-kind legislation aimed at so-called “judge-shopping,” a tactic used by litigants from all sides of the political spectrum to secure sweeping court orders blocking national policies by steering cases to judges perceived to be sympathetic to their causes.
Under the bill unveiled Wednesday by Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the US District Court in Washington, DC, would have the exclusive authority to hear civil lawsuits seeking court orders with nationwide force – including orders known as nationwide injunctions – that go beyond affecting the parties in a case.
“When parties are able to choose their judges, it creates the perception that they are able to predetermine their case’s outcome, compromising the integrity of our federal justice system,” Hirono said in a statement. “Activist plaintiffs should not be able to hand-select individual judges to set nationwide policy, which is why it’s critical we address the issue of judge shopping in our federal courts.”
The bill would preserve the ability of a party, if they were seeking a court order that would only cover themselves, to file their case in their local federal court.
Ten of the 14 active judges on DC’s federal court are Democrat appointees. Democratic appointees make up of six of the 10 active judges on the DC circuit.
Given the current Republican control of the House and the bevy of other judiciary-related matters Democratic lawmakers have spearheaded, it’s unclear what traction Hirono’s bill will get in this Congress.
But the introduction of the bill elevates an issue that has frustrated court reform advocates and the Biden administration alike. The Justice Department has not had any success so far in its efforts to push back in court against the…
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