United States bankruptcy court - Definition and Overview

In the United States, Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters.

The overwhelming majority of all proceedings in bankruptcy are held before a United States bankruptcy judge, whose decision in all matters is final unless a party to the case promptly appeals to the district judge for review of the decision.

Bankruptcy judges are not appointed for life by the President or subject to Senate confirmation as are US district judges: instead, the judicial conference for the federal judicial circuit in which the court is located appoints a bankruptcy judge to a fourteen-year term.

External link

Official site of the U.S. bankruptcy courts (http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts.html)