President signs Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act

The President has signed the Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2012, as Pub. L. No. 112-121 (pdf). It extends 29 existing temporary judgeships for an additional five years. The bankruptcy judgeships in the bill were created or extended in 2005 as temporary judgeships. By statute, five years after a judge fills the office, the first bankruptcy judgeship vacancy to occur in their district cannot be filled. The five years are up for most, and vacancies had begun to occur in the 19 districts that have those temporary judgeships.

More than 1.3 million bankruptcies were filled during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2012, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The figure is more than 400,000 greater than the number of filings during the same period in 2008.