Bankruptcy News

1. Courts Seek to Increase Jury Diversity

   A heightened awareness of the importance of diverse juries has prompted some federal courts to evaluate their selection processes to ensure that the age, race, and socio-economic status of juror pools reflect the courts’ communities.

2. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank Is Serving Justice One Day at a Time

   Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, Donovan Frank overcame the modest expectations of his high school teacher to attend college and then law school. He later also overcame alcoholism, a condition that nearly destroyed his marriage, on his way to becoming a state judge and then a federal judge in the District of Minnesota for two decades.

3. Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Decline

   Bankruptcy filings fell by 0.9 percent for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2019, compared with the year ending March 31, 2018. 

4. Landmark Free Speech Case Opens Students’ Eyes to Role of Appellate Courts

   In a new U.S. Courts video 40 Washington, D.C., area students participate in a realistic simulation of a student free speech case based on the 1969 landmark Tinker v. Des Moines.

5. In Central District of California, a Woman’s Place is in the Courthouse

   The Central District of California has the largest number of women in top leadership positions across all 94 federal judicial districts.

6. AO Publishes 2018 Annual Report and Court Statistics

   Over the past year, the federal Judiciary launched an aggressive effort to address workplace conduct issues, achieved one of its top cost-saving goals, and maintained its commitment to excellence in public service, reported James C. Duff, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), in his annual summary of the Judiciary’s activities.

7. Judicial Conference Approves Package of Workplace Conduct Reforms

   The federal Judiciary’s national policy-making body today approved a package of workplace conduct-related amendments stating the obligations of judges and Judiciary employees to report reliable information likely to constitute misconduct; making clear that confidentiality obligations should never be an obstacle to reporting judicial misconduct or disability; and specifying that retaliation for disclosing misconduct is itself misconduct.

8. Just the Facts: Magistrate Judges Reach the Half Century Mark

   Throughout 2018, the federal Judiciary celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Federal Magistrates Act of 1968, which established the magistrate judge system.

9. Pioneering Judge Mary Lou Robinson Dies at 92

   U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson, who grew up during the Dust Bowl and Depression in Texas, attended law school as one of a half-dozen female classmates more than a half century ago, and later had a federal courthouse named in her honor, died Jan. 26 at the age of 92.

10. Bankruptcy Filings Fall 2 Percent

    Bankruptcy filings in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018, fell 2 percent, compared with bankruptcy cases filed in calendar year 2017.