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From CNN's May 4, 2025 Harvard is taking the Trump administration to court. The judge overseeing the case is no stranger to either side:

Harvard has asked for an expedited final decision rather than an immediate order to restore the money, leaving $2 billion in federal grants and contracts the university says is critical to important research hanging in the balance. The university’s lawyers specifically asked in a court filing that Burroughs be assigned to this case, citing her involvement in a related case over federal research funding brought by the Association of American Universities, which includes Harvard.

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When suing the federal government in US District Court, is asking for a specific judge common? Who exactly is "asked", and how is the decision made?

Laurel
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uhoh
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2 Answers2

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It is definitely unusual to request a specific judge, but it is not unheard-of or necessarily improper.

When you file in federal court, you need to fill out a civil cover sheet, which will ask if your case is "related" to any case currently on the docket. In Massachusetts, Local Rule 40.1(g)(5)(B) further requires an explanation of how the cases are related so the clerk can determine whether they should be assigned to the same judge.

Here, Harvard "requests that this case be ... assigned to Judge Burroughs." because she is already hearing a similar case filed by the AAUP, of which Harvard is a member, over essentially the same issues.

bdb484
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a court filing that Burroughs be assigned to this case

A more apt way of describing what they asked for is that they asked for this case to be consolidated with a pre-existing related case. This has the side effect of asking that the particular judge in charge of the pending case also be assigned to this one. But ultimately, the legal basis for the request is that there is a closely related case that is already pending and that it would be efficient and promote consistent rulings to have the cases consolidated.

Harvard couldn't have asked for any particular judge to hear their new case, even if there was yet another judge who would have been more favorable to it. It could only ask that a judge who was previously randomly assigned to an earlier case that involves the same facts and circumstances be assigned.

ohwilleke
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