Judge Shopping

Abstract

We examine related case rules, which are local rules adopted by federal district courts to determine whether a newly filed civil action will be assigned to a randomly chosen judge or, instead, to a judge presiding over a previously-filed similar case. Different federal districts have adopted divergent approaches to the definition of “relatedness” as well as to the process for determining whether a case satisfies the definition. We analyze how these design choices affect the ability of parties to engage in strategic manipulations to direct a case toward (or away from) a particular judge to gain an advantage in litigation and set forth suggestions for the optimal design of the assignment rules for related cases.

Keywords: Federal Courts & Jurisdiction, LC: Litigants & the Judiciary (Topic), Law & Economics: Public Law (Topic), LSCP: Pleadings, Motions & Pretrial Procedure (Topic), LSC: Judges (Topic), LSC: Procedure (Topic), Law & Society: Public Law – Courts – Judges, Other Law & Society: Public Law - Courts

JEL Classification: Federal Courts & Jurisdiction, LC: Litigants & the Judiciary (Topic), Law & Economics: Public Law (T