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

The Judicial Conference adopted a new policy at its biannual meeting whereby judges will be randomly assigned to cases.

File photo of a judge's gavel. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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.