Federal Judiciary Called on to End Bankruptcy Judge Shopping

Advocates are urging the federal judiciary to require that large bankruptcy cases be randomly assigned among all judges within a district as a way to curb judge shopping.

Local court rules that funnel large bankruptcies to certain judges “undermine public confidence in the Chapter 11 system,” several bankruptcy academics and industry groups said Friday in a letter to H. Thomas Byron III, rules committee chief counsel with the Administrative Office of the US Courts.

The request comes comes as venue shopping has become a broader area of concern in the federal judiciary for civil cases. The US Justice Department recently ...