(Papers to be published in The American Bankruptcy Law Journal)
The year 2012 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. The Court in Marathon confronted the fundamental question of whether the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 violated Article III of the Constitution by vesting the federal judicial power in non-Article III bankruptcy courts. A fractured Court ultimately found the 1978 Act’s structure for federal bankruptcy jurisdiction to be unconstitutional. Under the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, Congress sought to cure the constitutional infirmity by restructuring the jurisdictional structure—specifically by designating the bankruptcy courts as units of the federal district courts. Since then some uncertainty has been expressed—including in oral argument before the Court in Stern v. Marshall (No. 10-179)—over whether the 1984 Amendments effectively restored the constitutional validity of the bankruptcy jurisdictional scheme. The panelists for this program will reflect on the Marathon decision, evaluate the current state of federal bankruptcy jurisdiction, and offer their thoughts on the path that lies ahead.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion