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Dear John,
Right-wing activists with controversial cases know exactly where to file them to get the results they are seeking. This practice, known as “judge shopping,” has intensified in recent years, as right-wing judges appointed by Trump are cherry-picked to hear cases that may have little to do with their jurisdictions.
For example, activists looking to limit reproductive rights are filing cases in the court of Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas -- the judge who declared the abortion pill mifepristone illegal.
And the Fifth Circuit Court, serving Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, is the favorite of the U.S Chamber of Commerce for decisions limiting consumer rights. The Fifth Circuit also advanced the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade, and declared the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) funding mechanism unconstitutional.
That’s why right-wing activists are filing their cases in the very courts or jurisdictions where their favorite activist judges are sure to pick them up. This had already been happening for way too long, but right-wing extremists have taken it to the, well, extreme.
In March, the federal policy-making Judicial Conference called for cases to be assigned randomly within jurisdictions in an attempt to end judge shopping. This was good news -- except that, when faced with criticisms from Republican senators, the Conference quickly declared the new policy “optional.”
It didn’t take long for the biggest offender -- the Fifth Circuit Court -- to opt out of the optional policy. So now it’s up to Congress to restore impartiality to the courts. Senators Schumer, Hirono, and Whitehouse introduced the End Judge Shopping Act to get it done.
Send a letter to your senators demanding they pass the End Judge Shopping Act. Based on where you live and whether your senators are already co-sponsors, we’ll have different example versions of the letter for you to submit.
Until we win this fight, big corporations and right-wing extremists will continue to win national cases that attack consumer protections, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, the environment, and reproductive health, by bringing them to judges who will give them the decisions they want.
They know their cherry-picked conservative judges have already blocked consumer-friendly reforms, including investor protections, lending discrimination regulations, and caps on credit card fees.
They know that In Amarillo, Judge Kacsmaryk is the only judge in town, so any cases filed there will go straight to him -- no random selections are even possible there. Kacsmaryk’s previous decisions haven’t just hit abortion rights, they’ve also limited LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
To allow for a random selection of judges in places like Amarillo, this legislation would require cases to be filed in larger districts with multiple judges available.
We need to do what we can to eliminate this procedural injustice! Click here to send a letter to your senators and tell them to pass the End Judge Shopping Act now.
Thank you for working for the fair administration of justice.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
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