[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FEDERAL JUDICIARY

  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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