Resources For Aspiring Bankruptcy Judges

Bankruptcy courts are units of the federal district courts. They handle bankruptcy filings by individuals, entities, and corporations to discard debt or make a plan to pay back their debts. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports that as of 2018, there are 350 authorized bankruptcy judgeships and 90 bankruptcy courts in the federal judiciary.

According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in fiscal year 2018 there were 773,375 bankruptcy petitions filed, 816,006 bankruptcy petitions terminated, and 1,027,477 bankruptcy petitions pending. This was the lowest total of bankruptcy petitions filed since 2007.

There are several different types of bankruptcy. Chapter 7 allows for individuals or businesses to liquidate their assets. Chapter 9 gives the opportunity for municipalities to reorganize. Chapter 11 allows for businesses or organizations to reorganize. Chapter 12 grants debt relief to family farmers and fishermen. Chapter 13 is for individuals to adjust their debts and pay them back over time. Lastly, Chapter 15 provides for bankruptcy in cases where there are multiple parties involved who are based in more than one country.

For information on salaries for bankruptcy judges, see the Federal Judicial Center.

Bankruptcy judges are appointed by the federal circuit courts and serve for 14-year renewable terms. Bankruptcy judges are appointed by a majority vote of the circuit court judges in the jurisdiction in which they sit, upon the recommendation of the judicial council, a group of court of appeals and district court judges that is chaired by the chief judge of the circuit. While it is not required, in practice all circuits use a merit selection panel to vet and recommend candidates to the judicial council. The selection process often takes up to six months, and is described in detail in a 2013 report by IAALS.

The composition of the merit selection panels and their vetting processes vary by jurisdiction. For example, an article by Judge Craig A. Gargotta details the Fifth Circuit’s procedures.

There are several important factors the merit panel considers when reviewing the applications of prospective bankruptcy judges. One valuable source for understanding how to build a strong application is reviewing circuits’ application questionnaires and instructions. According to a report from IAALS, the average number of applicants for an open vacancy ranges from about 12-50 depending on the jurisdiction.

Examples of applications for bankruptcy judgeships:

• Instructions for Applicants to a Fourteen-Year Term as United States Bankruptcy Judge, United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit
• Application for Position of United States Bankruptcy Judge, Southern District of Texas at McAllen
• Application for Position of United States Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of New York

Below are selected resources with guidance on becoming a bankruptcy judge:

• So You Want to Be a Bankruptcy Judge: Preparing for the Role and Application Process, the Hon. Frank J. Bailey, the Hon. C. Ray Mullins, and the Hon Elizabeth Snow Stong, American Bar Association
• How to Become a Bankruptcy Judge, the Hon. Frank J. Bailey and the Hon. Elizabeth Snow Stong, American Bar Association
• Building a Diverse Bench: A Guide for Judicial Nominating Commissioners, Kate Berry, Brennan Center for Justice
• A Credit to the Courts: The Selection, Appointment, and Reappointment Process for Bankruptcy Judges, Malia Reddick, Natalie Ann Knowlton, Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System

Bankruptcy judges are the least diverse bench in the entire federal court system, even though Americans are more likely to go to bankruptcy court than any other federal court. Data supplied to the Brennan Center by Judge Frank J. Bailey, a bankruptcy judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, indicates that as of 2015, approximately 7 percent of active bankruptcy judges were people of color and 31 percent of bankruptcy judges were women. By contrast, nationally, people of color make up nearly 40 percent of the population and women make up half the population.

Additional articles about diversity in bankruptcy court and on other federal benches are available below:

• Does the Federal Article I Bench Reflect the Ethnicity of the Populations that They Serve?, the Hon. Frank J. Bailey, The Judges’ Journal*
• The Unfinished Bench: Fostering Diversity in the Bankruptcy Court, Hon. Robert A. Gordon, American Bankruptcy Institute Journal
• Building a Diverse Bankruptcy Bench is Critical, Hon. Frank Bailey, Law 360
• On the Bench and Before the Bar: Diversity as a Core Value, Hon. Candy Dale and Anne E. Henderson, [H][W]
• Black Robes, White Judges: The Lack of Diversity on the Magistrate Judge Bench, Hon. Jennifer L. Thurston
• Combating Silence in the Profession, Virginia Root Martinez
• Judicial Diversity: A Resource Page, Brennan Center for Justice
• Building a Diverse Bench: A Guide for Judicial Nominating Commissioners, Kate Berry, Brennan Center for Justice

Below is the data discussed throughout this research page courtesy of the Hon. Frank J. Bailey and Caroline Granitur:

• How Well Does the Article I Federal Judiciary reflect the Ethnicity of the Population it Serves?
• Diversity on the Bench, December 6, 2017
• Judges by Race and Gender, 2019

*© 2016. Published in The Judges' Journal, Vol. 55. No. 2, Spring 2016, by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association or the copyright holder.