{"id":2964,"date":"2024-10-11T14:43:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T14:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/which-1-judge-division-districts-have-adopted-anti-forum-shopping-guidance\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T18:47:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T18:47:00","slug":"which-1-judge-division-districts-have-adopted-anti-forum-shopping-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/which-1-judge-division-districts-have-adopted-anti-forum-shopping-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"Which 1-Judge Division Districts Have Adopted Anti-Forum Shopping Guidance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p><em>Happy Friday, and welcome to another roundup of the week&#8217;s news about the judiciary. Two rules committees for the federal judiciary met this week, and went over a wide array of proposals dealing with everything from litigation funding to attorney admissions. We&#8217;re highlighting one major issue that the Committee on Civil Rules discussed, yet again: forum shopping.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p><em>As always, please reach out to me at [email\u00a0protected] with any tips or feedback and follow me on X at @AvalonZoppo.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<h2>Forum Shopping Fight<\/h2>\n<p>A number of districts have jumped on board with the judiciary&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/2024\/03\/15\/judiciarys-anti-judge-shopping-policy-gets-praise-pushback\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">anti-judge shopping guidance<\/a> in the past few months, even as a Texas federal court that&#8217;s frequently targeted by litigants seeking a conservative judge continues to resist changing its procedures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, which met on Thursday, gave an update in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscourts.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2024-10_civil_rules_agenda_book_final_10-6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">agenda<\/a>\u00a0on a rule proposal to curb the practice\u2013 and which included the districts with one or two-judge divisions that have adopted the guidance. They are:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re really in the early stages, at the six-month mark or so, of kind of seeing how the districts are reacting and responding to that [Judicial Conference] guidance,&#8221;\u00a0said U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida, who chairs the Committee on Civil Rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/birth-injury-lawyers.html\">Best Birth Injury lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/bus-accident-lawyers.html\">Bus Accident Lawyers Near Me<\/a> |\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/medical-malpractice-lawyers.html\">Best Medical malpractice Lawyers near me<\/a> |<\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>In a July 17 order, Chief Judge Mark Hornak of the Western District of Pennsylvania said any civil cases filed in the district&#8217;s two-judge divisions in Erie or Johnstown that seek national relief must be randomly assigned among all the district&#8217;s judges, in accordance with the U.S. Judicial Conference&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/nationallawjournal\/2024\/03\/12\/really-good-idea-judiciary-adopts-policy-to-limit-judge-shopping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">March recommendation<\/a> for random assignment in cases seeking national injunctions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>Hornak&#8217;s order says the new procedures were adopted &#8220;in furtherance of the continued sound management of the Court&#8217;s dockets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>Democratic lawmakers have warned that case assignment procedures in single-judge divisions allow conservative groups challenging the Biden administration&#8217;s policies to hand-pick favorable judges to hear their cases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/car-accident-lawyers.html\">Best Car accident lawyer near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/child-custody-lawyers.html\">Best Child custody lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/child-support-lawyers.html\">Child support lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/copyright-lawyers.html\">Best Copyright lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|<\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>But the rules committee&#8217;s update acknowledged that many districts with single-judge divisions still haven&#8217;t changed their procedures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/divorce-lawyers.html\">Best Divorce lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/criminal-defense-lawyers.html\">Best Criminal Defense Lawyers Near Me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/drunk-driving-accident-lawyers.html\">Drunk driving accident lawyers near me<\/a> |\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/insurance-claims-lawyers.html\">Best Insurance claims Lawyers near me<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>Of note is the Northern District of Texas, where Donald Trump-appointee Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sits as the only judge in the district&#8217;s Amarillo Division. Conservative groups seeking to challenge President Joe Biden&#8217;s policies\u2013-such as the expansion of access to mifepristone\u2013- have frequently filed in the Amarillo Division.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>At Thursday&#8217;s meeting, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said he worries a rule addressing the issue could backfire, and cautioned against moving too quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/mesothelioma-lawyers.html\">Best Mesothelioma Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/nursing-home-abuse-lawyers.html\">Nursing home abuse Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/personal-injury-lawyers.html\">Best Personal injury Lawyers near me<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>&#8220;Judge shopping sounds very sinister\u2026 but lawyers often look for venues and places they think will be favorable,&#8221;\u00a0Quattlebaum\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>&#8220;I get the concern about the respect of the judiciary\u2026 but I think there&#8217;s a little bit of a risk of that backfiring and appearing as\u00a0if it&#8217;s about one type of recent activity, when\u00a0[judge shopping] has happened across administrations. I know the rule would apply that way, but this issue is a volatile issue and it&#8217;s an important issue,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t dug into it, but it causes me to at least want to make sure we&#8217;re very careful about what we do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>The committee is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/nationallawjournal\/2024\/04\/10\/judiciary-rules-committee-will-continue-studying-anti-judge-shopping-proposal\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">continuing to investigate<\/a>\u00a0whether it has authority to implement a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/nationallawjournal\/2023\/10\/17\/us-judiciary-panel-debates-rule-proposal-to-curb-judge-shopping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">rule<\/a> that dictates how district courts assign cases. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and others pushed back against the Judicial Conference&#8217;s policy, arguing that how districts assign cases is up to the districts themselves under the Judiciary Act of 1911 and the judiciary can&#8217;t step in. <a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/accident-lawyers.html\">Best accident lawyer near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatrustedlawyers.com\/civil-litigation-lawyer.html\">Civil Litigation Lawyer near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatrustedlawyers.com\/consumer-protection-lawyer.html\">Consumer Protection Lawyer near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/bankruptcy-lawyers.html\">Best Bankruptcy lawyers near me<\/a> |\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/tax-lawyers.html\">Best Tax Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/truck-accident-lawyers.html\">Best Truck accident Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/workers-compensation-lawyers.html\">Best Workers compensation Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/wrongful-death-lawyers.html\">Best Wrongful Death Lawyers near me<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>The committee&#8217;s update in the agenda said a federal procedure rule may be able to supersede the statute if it complies with the Rules Enabling Act&#8217;s delegation of authority to &#8220;prescribe general rules of practice and procedure.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/police-brutality-lawyers.html\">Best Police brutality Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/probate-lawyers.html\">Best Probate Lawyers near me<\/a>|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/sexual-harassment-lawyers.html\">Sexual harassment Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/social-security-disability-lawyers.html\">Best Social security disability Lawyers near me<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p>&#8220;One could assert that a rule governing the assignment of cases is one of practice and procedure, as it does not implicate the merits of any claim,&#8221; the committee&#8217;s agenda update reads. &#8220;Such a judgment must be considered in the context of the history of the Congressional delegation of power to divide judicial business to the districts themselves.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<h2>What We&#8217;re Reading<\/h2>\n<p><strong>&gt;&gt; &#8216;The Most Peculiar Federal Court in the Country&#8217; Comes to Berkeley Law:<\/strong> &#8220;[Judge Raymond] Chen, who practiced early in his career at the firm now known as Knobbe Martens, called the Federal Circuit the &#8216;most peculiar federal court in the country.'&#8221; [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/litigationdaily\/2024\/10\/09\/the-most-peculiar-federal-court-in-the-country-comes-to-berkeley-law\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Law.com<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/dui-dwi-lawyers.html\">Best Dui Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/elder-law-lawyers.html\">Elder law Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/employment-law-lawyers.html\">Best Employment law Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/estate-planning-lawyers.html\">Estate planning Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/family-law-lawyers.html\">Best Family law Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/foreclosure-lawyers.html\">Best Foreclosure Lawyers near me<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/immigration-lawyers.html\">Best Immigration Lawyers near me<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p><strong>&gt;&gt; Focusing an Economic Lens On the Decrease In Federal Civil Jury Trials:<\/strong> &#8220;Multiply the reams of documents that get exchanged in discovery in federal cases times the hourly rate of the lawyers who have to mine through all of it, and you have a recipe for high costs, [Judge Carlos Bea] said.&#8221; [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/litigationdaily\/2024\/10\/08\/focusing-an-economic-lens-on-the-decrease-in-federal-civil-jury-trials\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Law.com<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-v-84c6be9c=\"\">\n<p><strong>&gt;&gt; What Judicial Nominations Could Look Like Under a President Harris or Trump:<\/strong> &#8220;Some court watchers have suggested that candidates may be vetted more thoroughly for conservative views a second time around.&#8221; [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/nationallawjournal\/2024\/10\/04\/what-judicial-nominations-could-look-like-under-a-president-harris-or-trump\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Law.com<\/a><\/strong>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Friday, and welcome to another roundup of the week&#8217;s news about the judiciary. Two rules committees for the federal judiciary met this week, and went over a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3793,3795,3796,3794,685,3798,3797],"class_list":["post-2964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawyers","tag-1judge","tag-adopted","tag-antiforum","tag-districts","tag-division","tag-guidance","tag-shopping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2982,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2964\/revisions\/2982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}