How are judges assigned to cases?
Judge assignment methods vary. The basic considerations in making assignments are to assure equitable distribution of caseload and avoid judge shopping. By statute, the chief judge of each district court has the responsibility to enforce the court’s rules and orders on case assignments. Each court has a written plan or system for assigning cases. The majority of courts use some variation of a random drawing. One simple method is to rotate the names of available judges. At times judges having special expertise can be assigned cases by type, such as complex criminal cases, asbestos-related cases, or prisoner cases. The benefit of this system is that it takes advantage of the expertise developed by judges in certain areas. Sometimes cases may be assigned based on geographical considerations. For example, in a large geographical area it may be best to assign a case to a judge located at the site where the case was filed. Courts also have a system to check if there is any conflict that woul
Related Questions
- Why do you assume that judges decide cases based on their political or ideological preferences? Dont judges make decisions based on the applicable law in each case?
- Do judges receive special training for handling mass-tort and class-action cases?
- Is it true that private judges can hear certain cases outside of a courtroom?
