Republicans tell right-wing judges to ignore new 'judge shopping' rules

New policies have are attempting to stop so-called "judge shopping," where someone wants to sue before a judge that is likely to support the case. Now Republicans are telling conservative judges that they don't really have to follow that policy if they don't want.

After the Judicial Conference of the United States agreed to new rules aimed at limiting the ability of plaintiffs to choose judges they want to hear their cases, many Republican lawmakers expressed outrage at the change.

In a letter signed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans, the lawmakers claim, "The assignment of cases within district courts is governed by federal statute," the letter claims with a citation. "That statute says in pertinent part, 'The business of a court having more than one judge shall be divided among the judges as provided by the rules and orders of the court.' That's it. It neither prohibits nor encourages district-wide assignment of cases and leaves the issue to the individual district courts to sort out according to their rules and procedures."

Over the past decade, conservatives have tried so-called "culture war" suits with friendly judges so they could fast-track the legislation to the U.S. Supreme Court and quickly changes laws.

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"This was an unforced error by the Judicial Conference," McConnell complained. "I hope they will reconsider. I hope district courts throughout the country will instead weigh what is best for their jurisdictions, not half-baked 'guidance' that just does Washington Democrats’ bidding."

One problem with McConnell's assessment, however, is that even some conservative judges agree with the Democrats on the matter, wrote NBC News Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley.

Judge Jeffrey Sutton, a Federalist Society judge appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003 to the 6th Circuit, called the elimination of judge shopping a "good idea."

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