In an apparent effort to discourage judge-shopping and ensure the random and transparent selection of judges, the Southern District has adopted a new rule on the assignment of jurists to “related” cases.
Under the new rule, which was promulgated after concerns were raised over the way in which the city’s stop-and-frisk racial profiling case landed before Southern District Judge Shira Scheindlin (See Profile), a judge’s decision to accept a new case as “related” to one on his or her docket will be reviewable by a three-judge assignment committee, including Chief Judge Loretta Preska (See Profile).
