The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, which constituted the first major revision of the federal bankruptcy laws since 1898, established a U.S. bankruptcy court in each judicial district. Bankruptcy judges were initially to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a fourteen-year term, but in 1984 Congress altered the law to provide for the appointments to be made by the U.S. courts of appeals. The 1984 revision also specified, in response to a Supreme Court ruling that the initial statute had granted bankruptcy judges powers to an unconstitutional extent, that the bankruptcy courts were units of the U.S. district courts and not independent courts.

See also:

Landmark Legislation: U.S. Bankruptcy Courts

Bankruptcy Judgeships