Federal Judiciary

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on forum shopping in the judiciary, our Federal judiciary is built on the trust and confidence of the American people, but right now, sadly, Americans' faith in the judicial system is at an alltime low thanks to the hijacking of our courts by the MAGA hard right and the unfair practice known as forum shopping.

Forum shopping essentially allows litigants in certain cases to handpick judges sympathetic to their cause. At its core, forum shopping undermines the spirit of a fair and balanced judiciary. That is why earlier this week I sent a letter to 18 of my Democratic colleagues and to the chair of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rights, calling on the Judicial Conference to consider reforms that would put an end to forum shopping.

If Americans want to see a clear example of why forum shopping is a serious problem, consider the Northern District of Texas. In that district, civil cases are often assigned to a single judge, if not one of just a few.

And it so happens, one of those judges is infamous--infamous--for his well-documented opposition to freedom of choice.

Do you know who knew that? The MAGA Republicans. So when MAGA Republicans sought to strip away access to FDA-approved abortion medication, widely available for decades, they intentionally targeted the Northern District of Texas, where only one judge sat. They knew which judge they would get.

To those who don't follow judiciary procedure, in most districts there are a bunch of judges. They put the case on wheel, and they spin the wheel around, and whomever the arrow lands on gets the case. You can't pick your judge.

But in this case, you can pick your judge, and in this case, it is an extreme MAGA judge, who we know has views that are so, so deeply held that no unbiassed bystander can think a fair trial will be held.

And, lo and behold, of course, that judge sided with the anti-choice extremists, marking the first time ever that a judge has ordered a drug to be taken off the market nationwide. It doesn't just affect Amarillo and northern Texas. It affects the whole country.

This isn't equal justice. This isn't a fair or impartial application of the rule of law. This is extremists using forum shopping to pull a fast one on the vast majority of Americans who opposed this ruling.

And, of course, women's freedom of choice isn't the only issue at stake. When extremists can manipulate our judiciary to get judges of their preference, it endangers everything from healthcare to immigration reform, to commonsense gun safety, to voting rights.

Forum shopping is a serious problem that will only worsen Americans' crisis of faith in the judiciary. The letter Democrats sent offers a path for sensible, good-faith reforms that will preserve an independent Federal judiciary, while letting in much needed fresh air into America's halls of justice.

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