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History of Bankruptcy Judges

United States Bankruptcy Courts are legislative courts which were created under Article I of the Constitution. They function as units of the district courts and have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. Because the federal district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases arising under the bankruptcy code, (see 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a)), bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court. Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by United States Congress in 1979. Bankruptcy judges are appointed by the circuit court for 14 year terms.

The Southern District of Texas three-year chief judge term was established July 7, 1989.

Bankruptcy Judge Dates of Service
Arthur L. Moeller 1968-1975
Edward H. Patton 1971-1983
William M. Schultz 1975-1982
John R. Blinn 1975-1982
Phil Peden 1982-1985
Randolph Wheless Jr. 1982-1997
Manuel D. Leal 1984-2004
Letitia Z. Paul 1985-2017
Margaret A. Mahoney 1987-1989
Richard Schmidt 1987-2015
William Greendyke 1987-2004
Karen Brown 1990 -2018
Wesley W. Steen 1997-2009
Marvin Isgur 2004 -
Jeff Bohm 2004 - 2019
David Jones 2011 - 2023
Eduardo V. Rodriguez (Current Chief Judge) 2015 -
Jeffrey P. Norman 2018 -
Christopher M. Lopez 2019 -