This legislation aims to bolster public confidence in the impartiality of the federal judiciary by mandating strict random assignment procedures for cases in district and circuit courts. Its core purpose is to prevent any party, attorney, or judge from influencing the assignment of cases, thereby eliminating opportunities for "judge shopping" or other forms of undue influence. For district courts , the bill requires the adoption of rules ensuring the random assignment of all civil cases. Reassignments are permitted only under specific, limited circumstances, such as judicial recusal, consolidation of substantially related cases for efficiency, or certification by the chief judge with majority consent for good cause. Notably, if the Supreme Court vacates or reverses a district court's judgment or injunction, the case must be randomly reassigned to a different judge. The bill emphasizes transparency , requiring district courts to publicly disclose all rules and policies regarding case assignments. Any non-random assignment or reassignment must be accompanied by a public memorandum explaining the reasons. An annual statistical report on assignments and reassignments is also mandated, though the identity of on-call judges will not be publicly disclosed to prevent circumvention. Similar provisions apply to circuit courts , mandating the random assignment of judges to panels and panels to cases. Exceptions for reassignment mirror those for district courts, including recusal, case consolidation, or chief judge certification. Circuit courts are also subject to the same transparency requirements, including public disclosure of rules, memoranda for non-random assignments, and annual statistical reports. Furthermore, the legislation extends these random assignment principles to three-judge district courts , ensuring that judges are randomly designated to these specialized panels. Any attempts to manipulate or evade these randomized assignment systems are subject to severe penalties, including sanctions for lawyers, judicial misconduct proceedings for judges, and disciplinary action for court employees. Courts are required to promulgate the necessary rules to implement these changes within 120 days of the Act's enactment.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Law
BOASBERG Act
USA119th CongressS-5148| Senate
| Updated: 7/28/2026
This legislation aims to bolster public confidence in the impartiality of the federal judiciary by mandating strict random assignment procedures for cases in district and circuit courts. Its core purpose is to prevent any party, attorney, or judge from influencing the assignment of cases, thereby eliminating opportunities for "judge shopping" or other forms of undue influence. For district courts , the bill requires the adoption of rules ensuring the random assignment of all civil cases. Reassignments are permitted only under specific, limited circumstances, such as judicial recusal, consolidation of substantially related cases for efficiency, or certification by the chief judge with majority consent for good cause. Notably, if the Supreme Court vacates or reverses a district court's judgment or injunction, the case must be randomly reassigned to a different judge. The bill emphasizes transparency , requiring district courts to publicly disclose all rules and policies regarding case assignments. Any non-random assignment or reassignment must be accompanied by a public memorandum explaining the reasons. An annual statistical report on assignments and reassignments is also mandated, though the identity of on-call judges will not be publicly disclosed to prevent circumvention. Similar provisions apply to circuit courts , mandating the random assignment of judges to panels and panels to cases. Exceptions for reassignment mirror those for district courts, including recusal, case consolidation, or chief judge certification. Circuit courts are also subject to the same transparency requirements, including public disclosure of rules, memoranda for non-random assignments, and annual statistical reports. Furthermore, the legislation extends these random assignment principles to three-judge district courts , ensuring that judges are randomly designated to these specialized panels. Any attempts to manipulate or evade these randomized assignment systems are subject to severe penalties, including sanctions for lawyers, judicial misconduct proceedings for judges, and disciplinary action for court employees. Courts are required to promulgate the necessary rules to implement these changes within 120 days of the Act's enactment.