Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Monday the Senate will consider “legislative options” after a federal court in Texas rejected a guidance against the so-called “practice of judge shopping.”
The top Democrat issued a post to X that bemoaned how the Northern District of Texas decided to “keep allowing the odious practice” after it rejected guidelines from the Judicial Conference of the United States.
“Judge shopping has been abused by right-wing activists to subvert the will of the people,” Schumer said. “The Senate will consider legislative options to put an end to this misguided practice.”
The Northern District of Texas has decided to keep allowing the odious practice of judge shopping.
Judge shopping has been abused by right-wing activists to subvert the will of the people.
The Senate will consider legislative options to put an end to this misguided practice. pic.twitter.com/qZmRkN0EC2
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 1, 2024
The Judicial Conference of the United States, which works on policy for the federal court system, unveiled last month an amended policy that seeks to promote a district-wide random selection process for judges.
Judge Robert Conrad Jr., secretary of the conference, said the policy “promotes the impartiality of proceedings and bolsters public confidence in the federal Judiciary.”
Senate Democrats had singled out the Northern District of Texas as an “egregious example” via “flawed and chaotic rulings on abortion access, LGBTQ+ protections, legal immigration, and climate legislation.”
But, on Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey wrote to Schumer announcing that the “consensus” in his Texas district was “not to make any change to our case assignment process at this time.”
Republicans in the Senate said the Judicial Conference guidance amounted to mere “suggestions” and stressed how the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress with the “sole authority to determine the structure of the lower courts.”
In remarks delivered last month, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said lawmakers should consider a bill from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) to stop nationwide injunctions that can bring an administration’s policies to a halt.
“If the Democratic leader wants to restore trust in our judiciary, he can join me in supporting this common-sense, nonpartisan reform. Or perhaps, he’d rather have a DHS Secretary in Oakland who wears a robe,” McConnell said.