Is Judge Shopping a Crime? Should It Be?

Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit dealt a stunning rebuke to prosecutors of the Southern District of New York ("SDNY") and Federal Judge, Richard J Sullivan. In a blistering ruling, that overturned the insider trading convictions of Anthony Chaisson and Todd Newman, the 2nd Circuit berated the prosecutors for overreach and the judge for misinterpretation of Supreme Court cardinal. Dynamite stuff but nothing compared to the other issue they raised, "judge shopping."
Procedurally, judges are to be assigned criminal cases in a random process, referred to as "the wheel." It's actually a wooden container, with a crank, spun on a magistrate judge's desk. The vessel containing the carded names of the 45+ SDNY-sitting judges is spun round and round, until a paw goes in and pulls out a "winner" who is assigned the case at hand.
On page seventeen of the ruling, in footnote five, the appellate panel "suggested that prosecutors had steered the case to a judge of their choosing." Interestingly, their alarm had been reported on previously: "...at a hearing on the appeal, the three-judge panel raised concerns about the unsavory courthouse practice that is known as judge shopping." To put it mildly, a tactic that flies in the face of Lady Justice.
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