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Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (COL) Students
Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution authorizes Congress to establish "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Bankruptcy law is, therefore, largely a matter of federal law, although bankruptcy law operates against a backdrop of rights created by state law as well. Today, bankruptcy is governed primarily by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, as amended, which is known as the Bankruptcy Code. The Bankruptcy Act of 1898, known as the Bankruptcy Act, governed cases filed before October 1, 1979. There are still references to the Bankruptcy Act in the Bankruptcy Code and in secondary sources, and courts may refer to analogous Bankruptcy Act provisions in interpreting the Bankruptcy Code.
The current version of the Bankruptcy Code is codified at Title 11 of the United States Code (U.S.C.). Title 11 is further divided into chapters, and bankruptcy cases are described by the chapter of the Bankruptcy Code under which they arise:
The United States Code is a subject arrangement of all public laws in effect at the time of printing. At the end of every legislative session, the laws passed in that session are compiled and codified by subject in the code. The code only contains the permanent laws that are in force at the time of publication and removes repealed laws and revised laws that have been amended by Congress.
The U.S. Code can be accessed online through the following resources:
The Law Library has the United States Code Service (USCS) published by Lexis in print. The USCS and the United States Code Annotated (USCA) are also available online through subscription resources.
United States Code Service (USCS)
United States Code Annotated (USCA)
Bankruptcy decisions can come from several federal courts. Most bankruptcy cases begin in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, which for constitutional reasons are a unit of the federal district courts. Cases that are initially heard in bankruptcy court may then be appealed either to the U.S. District Court or to a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (an administrative alternative to district courts in some circuits). Cases may be further appealed to the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
United States Court Opinions (GovInfo)
The United States Courts Opinions (USCOURTS) collection is a project between the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) to provide public access to opinions from selected United States appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. Coverage is generally from 2004 to present. Opinions can be downloaded as PDF documents.
Justia U.S. Federal Courts Case Law
Justia provides access to case law from the Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, and special federal courts. Coverage varies by jurisdiction.
Google Scholar Federal Case Law Search
Google Scholar has Supreme Court cases from 1791-present and federal trial, appellate, tax, and bankruptcy cases since 1923.
PACER
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy courts. Creating an account in PACER and viewing judicial opinions is free. Viewing other court documents costs $0.10/ a page, although users who incur less than $30 in charges per quarter are not billed.
Westlaw Bankruptcy Cases database (Westlaw password required)
This Westlaw database allows searching of Bankruptcy Court opinions from 1800 to the present (Westlaw password required).
Lexis Bankruptcy Case Law database (Lexis password required)
All available cases from any federal or state court pertaining to bankruptcy law. Coverage varies by court.
Bloomberg Law Bankruptcy Practice Center (Bloomberg Law password required)
This Bloomberg Law page allows searching of bankruptcy opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts, as well as bankruptcy appellate panel decisions.
Bankruptcy cases are governed by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, also known as the "Bankruptcy Rules." The Bankruptcy Rules are promulgated by the U.S. Supreme Court and were last amended in December 2018. The Bankruptcy Rules also prescribe the use of Official Forms in bankruptcy cases.
The Bankruptcy Rules and Official Forms are available in print and online. In print, they can be found as part of the official and unofficial versions of the United States Code. The Bankruptcy Rules are located in an appendix to Title 11 in the official U.S.C., appearing after Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
The Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are available in print in the law library.
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (U.S. Courts)
The U.S. Courts website provides access to the current Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.
Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
The Cornell Legal Information Institute website provides access to the current Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona
This webpage provides the Arizona Bankruptcy local rules. The page includes links to all rules together as well as links to individual rules.
Westlaw (Westlaw password required)
Westlaw provides access to the current version of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, with annotations as published in the U.S.C.A.
Lexis (Lexis password required)
Lexis provides access to the current version of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as published in the U.S.C.S.