Contact: John Hartgen
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JUDGES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO COMMENT ON BAPCPA IN JUDICIAL OPNINIONS, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI POLL

January 3, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — A majority (68 percent) of respondents in a recent American Bankruptcy Institute online poll disagreed that judges should temper their negative comments about BAPCPA in judicial opinions because it otherwise suggests an adversarial relationship between the judiciary and Congress. Fifty-nine percent of respondents “strongly disagreed” and another nine percent “disagreed somewhat” that judges should temper their comments about BAPCPA in judicial opinions.

Twenty-nine percent agreed that judges should temper their negative comments about BAPCPA in judicial opinions because it would suggest an adversarial relationship between the judiciary and Congress. Thirteen percent of respondents “agreed strongly,” while 16 percent “somewhat agreed” that judges should temper their comments about BAPCPA in judicial opinions in order to not suggest an adversarial relationship between the judiciary and Congress. Four percent did not know or had no opinion on the issue.

ABI members and members of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “Judges should temper their negative comments about BAPCPA in judicial opinions because it otherwise suggests an adversarial relationship between the judiciary and Congress.”   The latest ABI Quick Poll was open for voting from Dec. 21-28.

Several judges have been very outspoken in their criticism of BAPCPA, in judicial opinions, press reports and Congressional testimony. The criticism has created tension with some of BAPCPA’s sponsors in Congress who have questioned whether the conduct violates the ethical rules for judges.

ABI’s weekly Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,500 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.