Federal Judicial Policy and the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System

• Published in: American Bankruptcy Institute journal Vol. 43; no. 9; pp. 32 - 54
• Main Author: Elliott, Dana Yankowitz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria American Bankruptcy Institute 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Appointments & personnel changes; Attorneys; Bankruptcy; Budgets; Case management; Committees; Estate administration; Federal courts; Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure; Fees & charges; Judges & magistrates; Judicial reviews; Judiciary; Jurisdiction; Legislation; Wages & salaries; Workforce planning; United States > US
• ISSN: 1931-7522

The Judicial Conference operates through a network of 25 committees, each comprised entirely or mostly of federal judges,4 which focus on specific topics such as bankruptcy, case management, judicial conduct, information technology, space utilization, security, budget, and rules of practice and procedure. Recent legislative positions taken by the Judicial Conference, on recommendation of the Bankruptcy Committee, include seeking to: * set a statute of limitations for the filing of an application to withdraw unclaimed funds attributable to bankruptcy courts and expressly eliminate any liability borne by the U.S. or any officer or employee of the U.S. for failure to make payment on a request for payment of unclaimed funds after the statute of limitations has run; * address certain structural concerns related to the compensation of chapter 7 debtors' attorneys by amending the Bankruptcy Code to (1) except from discharge chapter 7 debtors' attorneys' fees due under any agreement for payment of such fees, (2) add an exception to the automatic stay to allow for post-petition payment of chapter 7 debtors' attorneys' fees, and (3) provide for judicial review of fee agreements at the beginning of a chapter 7 case to ensure reasonable chapter 7 debtors' attorneys' fees; and * amend § 1329(c) of the Bankruptcy Code to clarify debtors' ability to modify chapter 13 plans that were extended under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act5 to address potential feasibility issues caused by the CARES Act provision not having been renewed. [...]the Bankruptcy Committee considers and makes recommendations to the Judicial Conference or other Conference committees with primary jurisdiction on myriad other matters affecting the operation of the bankruptcy system, including bankruptcy appeals, case management, court governance, federal rules of bankruptcy practice and procedure, statistical workload information and projections, and cost-containment initiatives such as collaborative sharing arrangements and the consolidation of court units. Other Judicial Conference committees also consider and make recommendations on issues that have a significant impact on the bankruptcy system, including the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, which studies and considers suggested changes to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure;9 the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, which considers issues related to fee proposals and other court-administration and case-management issues; and the Committee on Judicial Resources, which considers all issues of human resources, including staffing formulae and requirements for bankruptcy judge chambers, bankruptcy clerks' offices and BA office personnel.