E.D.N.Y. Division of Business Rule 2 — Assignment of Cases
A published court requirement that applies in New York. Category: Local Rules. Effective February 17, 2025. Verified against the official source (E.D.N.Y. — Local Rules & Division of Business (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York)) on November 3, 2026.
Summary
E.D.N.Y. Division of Business Rule 2 — Assignment of Cases: the court's own rule, verbatim from Rules for the Division of Business for the Eastern District of New York (Effective February 17, 2025), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: governs the categories, courthouse designation (Brooklyn or Central Islip), assignment and relatedness of cases among the judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York; adopted under 28 U.S.C. § 137 for the internal management of the court's case load.
Requirement
(a) All criminal, civil and miscellaneous cases shall be randomly assigned by the Clerk as provided in these Rules. (b) Civil Cases (1) The Clerk shall assign all civil cases upon the filing of the initial pleading to a District and Magistrate Judge, except a Magistrate Judge shall not be assigned: (A) to those categories of actions set forth in Local Rule 16.1, collection matters where the United States or one of its agencies is the plaintiff, or to any immigration matter alleging undue delay, or to any review of decisions from administrative agencies, unless brought pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act; or (B) to a case or category of cases where the assigned District Judge, by informing the Clerk, elects not to have a Magistrate Judge conduct non- dispositive, pretrial matters. (2) A Magistrate Judge assigned to a case pursuant to subsection (1) is empowered to act with respect to all non-dispositive pretrial matters unless the assigned District Judge orders otherwise. (3) Notwithstanding the assignment rules established in subsection (1), the Board of Judges may through Administrative Order determine that certain civil cases should, on a temporary or pilot basis, be assigned initially to a single District or Magistrate Judge, or both. (c) Criminal Cases. The Clerk shall assign a criminal case to a District and/or Magistrate Judge, depending on the nature of the application or charging instrument filed. Wiretap applications shall be randomly assigned upon filing to a District Judge. (d) Miscellaneous Cases. The Clerk of Court shall determine which matters shall be given a Miscellaneous Case designation. Such matters shall be assigned by the Clerk to a Magistrate Judge and/or District Judge depending on the type of matter. (e) Distribution of Cases Among Judges. The Chief Judge shall determine, following consultation with the Board of Judges, the percentage allocation of cases between the Central Islip and Brooklyn Judges, or otherwise change the distribution of cases between courthouses and/or among Judges, to accommodate changes in the complement of Judges, to further the efficient resolution of cases, or for any other reason in the interests of justice. Nothing in these Rules shall be deemed to prevent the reassignment of cases at the initiative of the Chief Judge by agreement of the Judges involved. The Chief Judge may, at any time with the consent of the Judges involved, reassign individual cases between Judges or from one Courthouse to another at any point, including for trial. The Chief Judge may also approve the assignment or transfer of cases to a visiting District or Magistrate Judge. (f) Chief Judge; Senior District Judges; Notice of Removal from Assignment Wheel. (1) The Chief Judge and each Senior District Judge shall indicate to the Clerk the percentage of a full caseload and type of case that he or she elects to have assigned. (2) For active District Judges, the Chief Judge, with the consent of the affected Judge, may remove that Judge from any wheel temporarily, for one month or less, to reduce the number of newly assigned cases. Such temporary removal may be renewed by the Chief Judge, who shall inform the Board of Judges of any removal that cumulatively exceeds two months. The Clerk shall return that Judge to the wheel upon the expiration of the period of temporary removal. The Clerk shall upon request inform any attorney or party of the identity of Judges whose names have been removed from a wheel. (g) Recusal. A District Judge or Magistrate Judge may recuse himself or herself from any assigned case at any time in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 455. (h) Appeals-Assignment on Reversal or Remand (1) In a criminal case, upon reversal of a judgment and a direction for retrial or resentence, the case shall remain assigned to the original District Judge, except that when directed otherwise by the Court of Appeals, following receipt of the mandate, the Clerk shall randomly select a different District Judge to preside over the case. (2) In a civil case upon reversal the case shall remain assigned to the District and Magistrate Judges who were previously assigned, unless otherwise directed by the Court of Appeals.
Source of truth
(a) All criminal, civil and miscellaneous cases shall be randomly assigned by the Clerk as provided in these Rules. (b) Civil Cases (1) The Clerk shall assign all civil cases upon the filing of the initial pleading to a District and Magistrate Judge, except a Magistrate Judge sha
- Official source
- E.D.N.Y. — Local Rules & Division of Business (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York)
- Source health
- Healthy · checked November 14, 2026
- Effective date
- February 17, 2025
- Last verified
- November 3, 2026benchpath-nyfed-rules-2026-11-03
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