Sherrill Responds to Republican Attempt to Rig the Courts with Legislation to Prevent Judge Shopping
WASHINGTON, DC — As Speaker Mike Johnson and Washington Republicans continue to enable President Trump’s unprecedented attacks on federal judges, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) re-introduced legislation to prevent right-wing manipulation of the court system through a tactic known as “judge shopping.” Judge shopping is utilized by Republican activists, like anti-abortion advocates, to cherry-pick ultra-conservative judges — and guarantee favorable decisions — by filing lawsuits in single-judge divisions of United States District Courts.
Meanwhile, House Republicans brought legislation to the floor for a vote — the No Rogue Rulings Act — that would limit district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, curbing their constitutional authority, and paring back our system of checks and balances.
“House Republicans are abdicating their constitutional responsibility to serve as a check on the illegal actions of the Trump administration. Instead, they are attempting to strip federal judges of their authority to stop the President’s unlawful orders. If Washington Republicans were serious about addressing court manipulation, they would support my bill to crack down on judge shopping, a tactic deployed to obtain favorable decisions from hand-picked judges.
“Judge shopping was the tool right-wing extremists used to attack access to mifepristone, a form of medication abortion — along with other health and safety regulations conservatives opposed. My bill would end this unfair practice, because I refuse to let conservative activists weaponize the court to further their agenda and strip away our fundamental rights,” said Rep. Sherrill.
"There will always be some gamesmanship by parties when deciding which federal court to file their lawsuit in. But there's forum-shopping and then there are guaranteed judge draws, the latter of which are assured in single-judge divisions and are antithetical to the American legal system's goal of fairness. Thankfully, Congress possesses the constitutional authority to modify the structure of the federal courts, and I commend Rep. Sherrill's legislation to do so by restoring the veil of ignorance to judicial assignments, thereby making our courts more trustworthy and impartial," said Gabe Roth, Executive Director, Fix the Court.
"A litigant should not be able to handpick the judge who will hear their case," said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "But no federal law prevents judge shopping, thus allowing litigants to effectively choose who will oversee their litigation by filing actions in divisions with only a single judge. By preventing cases of nationwide consequence from being filed in a single-judge division, however, Rep. Sherrill's End Judge Shopping Act prevents this manipulation of the judicial system. CREW applauds Rep. Sherrill for reintroducing this commonsense legislation to restore public faith in the independence and impartiality of our judiciary."
In February, the American Bar Association adopted a resolution supporting congressional action to address judge shopping, and in a recent publication, the Harvard Law Review highlighted Rep. Sherrill’s bill in discussing the benefits of restricting judge shopping.
Rep. Sherrill is a former federal prosecutor and has been a strong champion for abortion rights. In the wake of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case in Texas, Rep. Sherrill gathered leaders from Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Agile Therapeutics for a panel discussion on the threat to abortion access in New Jersey. She has also introduced legislation on protecting the reproductive rights of servicewomen and access to emergency abortion care.
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