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The Eastern District of Texas handles 2,540 new patent cases in 2015—44% of all patent cases in the entire United States, despite representing only ~1% of the national population. A single judge, Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall, Texas, personally receives 1,686 patent case filings in 2015, representing one out of every four patent cases nationwide. This extraordinary concentration represents systematic judicial forum shopping where patent trolls (non-practicing entities) exploit plaintiff-friendly procedural rules, rapid 'rocket docket' trial schedules, and jury pools sympathetic to patent holders. Since 2014, Judge Gilstrap has handled over 25% of all U.S. patent litigation. The district's appeal: 80%+ plaintiff win rate at trial versus 35% nationally, though Gilstrap's own stats show 83% of his 6,929 cases settle before trial (versus 69% nationally), and when reaching trial, defendants prevail 50.7% of the time—suggesting the real extraction happens through settlement pressure, not trial outcomes. A study finds that since 2014, over 90% of Eastern District patent cases involve non-practicing entities filing against defendants with no presence in Texas. Lex Machina data confirms the Eastern District's dominance. This represents capture of the judicial system itself: patent trolls concentrate cases before predictable judges using procedural advantages, extracting settlements through litigation cost leverage rather than patent merit. Chief Justice Roberts highlights judge shopping as a concern in his 2021 Year-End Report. The system enables forum selling—districts competing to attract patent litigation.