Judge David Godbey, the chief judge of the Northern Texas federal district court division, informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on March 29 that his court would not adhere to recently introduced guidelines aimed at curbing the practice of “judge shopping.” This strategy, employed more frequently by conservatives to challenge President Joe Biden’s policies, has prompted Judge Godbey’s decision.
In a statement on April 1, Senator Schumer expressed his disappointment regarding the decision of Chief Judge Godbey and the district judges of the Northern District of Texas to allow the ongoing practice of judge shopping. He criticized the fact that plaintiffs are able to choose their own judge, a practice that the Judicial Conference has been actively working to limit.
The federal district courts in Northern Texas have become a hub of judge shopping among conservative activists since President Biden assumed office. Judge shopping refers to the strategy of plaintiffs filing lawsuits in specific judicial divisions, knowing that these divisions are presided over by a single judge who is known to be sympathetic to their cause.
Conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk finds himself at the center of a heated debate surrounding the practice of judge shopping, which allows plaintiffs to handpick the judge they believe would be most favorable to their case.
One of the most prominent instances of this can be found in the federal courtroom of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas. Conservatives have continuously brought forth lawsuits that have little connection to Northern Texas but have significant national implications in their efforts to oppose the policies of the Biden administration. Having previously served as a lawyer for religious right organizations, Kacsmaryk has played a pivotal role by issuing controversial rulings that have imposed nationwide injunctions, effectively blocking Biden’s policies on various matters, including immigration and the approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.
The Judicial Conference, the 26-member oversight body responsible for setting rules for the federal judiciary, faced criticism from national Democrats and federal judges. In response, they issued new guidelines on March 12 to address the growing problem of judge shopping. The guidelines mandated that district courts randomly assign judges for cases seeking national injunctive relief.
However, Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), opposed the guidelines, leading to significant pushback. As a result, the Judicial Conference clarified that the guidelines were voluntary. This meant that the chief judges of each regional district court had the discretion to decide whether or not to adopt the new guidelines. It’s important to note that there are no penalties for courts that choose not to implement these guidelines.
Both sides lobbied Godbey, the head of the district court known for judge shopping. McConnell reached out to Godbey on March 14, urging him to reject the guidelines and continue allowing conservatives to bring their special pleas to Kacsmaryk’s Amarillo court. Schumer, on the other hand, responded on March 22 with his own plea for Godbey to abide by the guidelines.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has recently reached out to Northern Texas District Court Chief Judge David Godbey, urging him to adhere to the newly implemented judge-shopping guidelines.
In his letter to Schumer on March 29, Godbey supported McConnell’s stance, stating that he personally met with all of his district court judges and chose not to implement the guidelines.
In a recent meeting held on March 27, 2024, the district judges of the Northern District of Texas deliberated on the matter of case assignment. As per the statement by Godbey, the consensus among the judges was to maintain the current case assignment process without making any changes at this moment.
The high court may be losing patience as well. In a case involving the availability of the abortion drug mifepristone, which was originally ruled upon in Kacsmaryk’s courthouse, the justices appeared frustrated by the poorly structured nature of the case. There was no clear claim that the anti-abortion plaintiffs had standing to sue, yet the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative Trump appointee, expressed his dismay at how the case was presented before the court.
Schumer’s pleas may not have an immediate impact on Godbey, but if the Supreme Court’s conservatives continue to express their discontent, it could sway his decision.
