Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Need To Curtail The Dangerous Practice Of Judge Shopping

Washington, D.C.- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the gross practice of judge shopping, calling on Congress to exercise its legislative oversight authority over the courts to ensure that the federal judiciary is committed to equal justice under law. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

The central principle of America's justice system can be boiled down to four words we all know well: "equal justice under law."

When you go to court, a judge's personal preferences should make no difference in the outcome.

But recently, the hard-right has turned "equal justice under law" on its head with the gross practice of judge shopping. Ideologues from across the country bring their cases to courts of their choosing, to pick and choose judges they know are friendly to their cause.

Judge shopping is how the hard-right successfully revoked FDA approval of mifepristone nationwide a year ago.

And yesterday, MAGA Republicans took aim at President Biden's new background check rules by flocking again to their favorite MAGA judge in the country, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Kacsmaryk has not even been a judge for five years - not for five years - and already he has heard cases with nationwide implications on things like reproductive care and federal LGBTQ protections and the ACA. There is a very clear reason why this single Texas judge hears so many controversial cases: he is a living, breathing rubber stamp for the hard-right's agenda, and MAGA extremists know he's friendly to their cause.

I've said it before and I will say it again: judge shopping jaundices our legal system like few other abuses do. Picking and choosing a judge to get a pre-determined outcome is the definition of unfairness and Congress should fix this abuse with appropriate legislation. Even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court - hardly a liberal - has acknowledged that judge shopping is a problem that ought to be addressed.

A few weeks ago, I led a group of 40 Senators in introducing a bill that would curtail judge shopping and restore fairness to the judicial system. I would hope both sides can work together on this bill to ensure that nobody gets an unfair advantage in a court of law simply based on a judge's personal preferences.

Some of my colleagues on the other side have suggested that Congress shouldn't do anything to improve how our courts work. That is plainly ridiculous.

When the federal judiciary is being exploited by practices like judge shopping, it is both proper and appropriate for the Congress to exercise its oversight authority.

Congress has clear authority under the Constitution to exercise oversight of the courts. So, we will continue weighing legislative options to ensure that the federal judiciary is committed to equal justice under law.

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