WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on March 21 sent a letter with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and 17 of their Senate Republican colleagues to Judge Robert Conrad, Director of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, reiterating that the Judicial Conference should not interfere in the legislative process, a press release states.
The letter follows the Judicial Conference's recommendation that district courts should randomly assign cases in which plaintiffs seek nationwide injunctions, which would infringe upon Congress’ sole authority to determine the structure of America’s federal district courts.
They wrote: “We were surprised by news stories last week that the Judicial Conference of the United States had required district courts to enact procedures randomly assigning across their districts cases in which plaintiffs seek nationwide injunctions. We found this deeply troubling because it would direct the courts to change in sum and substance the effect of federal venue laws and the operation of statutorily created judicial divisions. These matters are properly decided by the legislative branch, not the courts.”
“We—like Alexander Hamilton—believe the courts are at their best when they remind the political branches to stay in their respective lanes, not when the courts decide to swerve into politics themselves. The reported policy recommendations, apart from being unequal in their application and ill-suited to their supposed purpose, would have constituted a remarkable encroachment on the separation of powers.”
“We are pleased that the judiciary has chosen not to interfere in the legislative process. It is our expectation that this is the last we hear about this issue from the Judicial Conference.”
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Kennedy (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Boozman (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Ted Budd (R-NC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) signed on to the letter.