By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans targeted a new federal courts policy on Thursday that aims to control “judge shopping,” a practice that gained national attention in a major abortion medication case.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized it on the Senate floor and teamed up with two other GOP senators to send letters to a dozen chief judges around the country suggesting they don’t have to follow it.
The courts’ policy requires cases with broad implications to be randomly assigned to judges, even in smaller divisions where all cases filed locally go before a single judge. In those single-judge divisions, critics say private or state attorneys can essentially choose which judge will hear their case, including suits with state or national implications.
Various interest groups have long attempted to file lawsuits before judges they see as favorable to their causes, but the practice drew more attention after an unprecedented ruling halting approval of abortion medication.
That case was filed in Amarillo, Texas, where it was almost certain to go before a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump who is a former attorney for a religious-liberty legal group that supported conservative causes.
The Supreme Court ultimately put the ruling on hold and is hearing arguments on it later this month.
Cases seeking national injunctions have been increasing in recent years, and Senate Republicans have tried to reduce that practice, McConnell said. But he called the court’s new approach “half-baked” and an “unforced error.”
“I hope they will reconsider. And I hope district courts throughout the country will instead weigh what is best for their jurisdictions, not half-baked ‘guidance’ that just does Washington Democrats’ bidding,” he said.
He was joined by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina in letters to chief justices in affected areas, saying the law allows district courts to set their own rules.
Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, have praised the policy change, with Schumer saying it would “go a long way to restoring public confidence in judicial rulings.
The shift was announced by Judge Jeff Sutton, chief judge of the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Sutton was appointed by President George W. Bush and clerked for late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. He serves as chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference’s executive committee.
The Judicial Conference did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
