Law Practice
How to Get Popular Judge: Check Box
Posted Dec 3, 2007, 05:38 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Over the years, an 86-year-old federal judge who sits in Brooklyn, N.Y., has developed a following among local plaintiffs lawyers. And complex tort cases are frequently given to U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein, despite a random assignment system.
How does this happen? The New York Sun apparently has the answer: Those in the know check the right box on a case information sheet submitted with the filing.
"Plaintiffs have a good chance of picking which judge will hear their case simply by checking off a box," the newspaper reports. "When filing a case in federal court, plaintiffs can indicate that their case is 'related' to another case already in the court. The new case is then automatically assigned to that judge, instead of being randomly assigned."