Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. et al. (458 U.S. 50)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 28, 1982 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 458 U.S. 50 · 102 S. Ct. 2858
- Decided
- June 28, 1982
- Term
- October Term 1981
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Brennan
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
- Constitutional ruling
- Federal law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Brennan announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Marshall, Justice Blackmun, and Justice Stevens joined. The question presented is whether the assignment by Congress to bankruptcy judges of the jurisdiction granted in 28 U. S. C. § 1471 (1976 ed., Supp. IV) by § 241(a) of the Bankruptcy Act of 1978 violates Art. Ill of the Constitution. I A In 1978, after almost 10 years of study and investigation, Congress enacted a comprehensive revision of the bankruptcy laws. The Bankruptcy Act of 1978 (Act) made significant changes in both the substantive and procedural law of bankruptcy. It is the changes in the latter that are at issue in this case. Before the Act, federal district courts served as bankruptcy courts and employed a “referee” system. Bankruptcy proceedings were generally conducted before referees, except in those instances in which the district court elected to withdraw a case from a referee. See Bkrtcy. Rule 102. The referee’s final order was appealable to the district court. Bkrtcy. Rule 801. The bankruptcy courts were vested with “summary jurisdiction” — that is, with jurisdiction over controversies involving property in the actual or constructive possession of the court. And, with consent, the bankruptcy court also had jurisdiction over some “plenary” matters — such as disputes involving property in the possession of a…
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