United States bankruptcy court 70237 219290271 2008-06-14T14:37:17Z Dreamrabbit 7271386 Bankruptcy Appellate Panels are only available in some parts of the country. [[Image:United States Bankruptcy Court Seal.png|right]] {{Refimprove|date=May 2008}} '''United States bankruptcy court''' are [[United States federal court|federal courts]] that have [[subject-matter jurisdiction]] over [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy cases]]. Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in [[state court]]. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters. The separate system of bankruptcy courts was created by [[United States Congress]] in 1979. The bankruptcy judges in each judicial district in regular active service constitute a "unit" of the applicable [[United States district court]] (see {{USCode|28|151}}). The bankruptcy judge is appointed for a term of 14 years by the [[United States court of appeals]] for the circuit in which the applicable district is located (see {{USCode|28|152}}). Technically, the United States district courts have subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters (see {{uscsub|28|1334|a}}). However, each such district court may, by order, "refer" bankruptcy matters to the bankruptcy court (see {{uscsub|28|157|a}}). As a practical matter, most district courts have a standing "reference" order to that effect, so that all bankruptcy cases in that district are handled, at least initially, by the bankruptcy court. In unusual circumstances, a district court may in a particular case “withdraw the reference” (i.e., take the case or a particular proceeding within the case away from the bankruptcy court and decide the matter itself) under {{uscsub|28|157|d}}. The overwhelming majority of all proceedings in bankruptcy are held before a United States bankruptcy judge, whose decision in all matters is final, subject to [[appeal]]s to the district court. In some judicial circuits, appeals may be taken to a [[Bankruptcy Appellate Panel]] ("BAP"). The [[Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure]] (FRBP) govern [[Legal procedure|procedure]] in the U.S. bankruptcy courts. Decisions of the Bankruptcy Courts are not collected and published in an official [[reporter (law)|reporter]] produced by the government. Instead, the ''de facto'' official source for opinions of the Bankruptcy Courts is ''West's Bankruptcy Reporter'', published privately by [[Thomson West]]. ==External links== *[http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts.html Official website of the U.S. bankruptcy courts] {{Law of the United States}} [[Category:Article I tribunals|Bankruptcy court]] [[Category:Judicial branch of the United States government|Bankruptcy court]] [[Category:United States bankruptcy law]]