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. |
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Bankruptcy Judge | Dates of Service |
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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 - |
Alfredo R Pérez | 2024 - |