judge shopping

or judge-shop·ping

[ juhj shop-ing ]

noun

, Law.

1. the act or practice of filing a lawsuit in a district where the case will be assigned to a judge who is likely to find in your favor: Compare forum shopping ( def ).

   The case was transferred to a district with multiple judges to avoid the perception of judge shopping.

Word History and Origins

Origin of judge shopping¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

While his ruling is only a temporary pause on the program, it should be noted that this entire ordeal is the latest example of what can be described as judge shopping.

From Salon

Instead, it filed its lawsuit in federal court in Forth Worth, where the case was certain to be heard by one of the only two judges in that courthouse, both conservatives appointed by Republican presidents — a crystalline example of partisan “judge shopping.”

From Los Angeles Times

Such judge shopping, particularly in cases challenging abortion rights and immigration policy, has been drawing increasing scrutiny.

From New York Times

It would end the most targeted form of judge shopping, where plaintiffs game a district’s case-assignment system by filing in a small division staffed by one or two judges.

From New York Times

Bankruptcy is another area in which judge shopping has caused problems: courts with predictable case assignments in Delaware, Texas, and New York have openly appealed to what legal scholar Lynn LoPucki calls “case placers”—the executives and lawyers of the bankrupt company who hope the judge will reward them with a sweetheart compensation deal and high professional fees.

From Slate