Federal courts move to restrict ‘judge shopping,’ which got attention after abortion medication case

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal courts are moving to make it harder to file lawsuits in front of judges seen as friendly to a point of view, a practice known as judge shopping that gained national attention in a major abortion-medication case. The new policy announced Tuesday covers civil suits that would affect an entire state or the whole country. It would require a judge to be randomly assigned, even in areas where locally filed cases have gone before a single judge. So-called judge shopping has raised concerns from senators and the Biden administration. It got more attention after a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, halted approval of abortion medication nationwide. That ruling has been halted by the Supreme Court.