Federal Judiciary Adopts Policy to Curtail 'Judge Shopping'

The U.S. federal judiciary on Tuesday adopted a new policy aimed at curtailing "judge shopping" by state attorneys general and activists who file lawsuits challenging government policies in courthouses where a single, sympathetic judge hears most cases.

The U.S. Judicial Conference, the judiciary's policymaking body, at a meeting in Washington, D.C., approved a policy that would require lawsuits seeking to block state or federal laws to be assigned a judge randomly throughout a federal district.