New Judge Appointed To Bankruptcy Appellate Panel

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Bankruptcy Judges Meredith A. Jury of Riverside and Bruce A. Markell of Las Vegas have been appointed to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, or BAP, which resolves appeals arising out of bankruptcy court decisions in nine western states. The appointments, which are effective August 1, 2007, and have a term of seven years, were made by the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, governing body for federal courts in the west. The newcomers will fill seats being vacated by Bankruptcy Judges Philip H. Brandt of Seattle, who has served on the BAP since 1998, and Erithe A. Smith of Santa Ana, who has served since 2004. “I am very pleased to have Judges Jury and Markell join the BAP. The addition of such talented and hard-working judges ensures a continuing high level of service to litigants,” said Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder. Judge Jury was appointed in 1997 to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, sitting in Riverside. Prior to coming onto the bench, she had practiced with the the law firm of Best Best & Krieger in Riverside from 1976 to 1996.

Judge Jury received her undergraduate degree in 1969 from the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude. She received an M.A. in Economics in 1971 and an M.S. in English/Education in 1972 from the University of Wisconsin. She received her J.D. in 1976 from University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. Judge Jury has been an active member of a number of community organizations, including the Riverside County Coalition for Alternatives to Domestic Violence, the Riverside County Mental Health Advisory Board, NOW and the Sierra Club. She also has an extensive list of achievements as a lecturer, panelist and moderator for a number of local and national educational forums. Judge Markell has served on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada since 2004. He came to the court from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, where he had been the Theodore B. Lee Professor of Law since 1999. He also served on the faculty of the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington from 1990 to 1999, and was a visiting professor of law at the Harvard Law School and the University of California at Davis School of Law, his alma mater, and a visiting associate law professor at Emory University School of Law.

Judge Markell practiced bankruptcy law as an associate and partner at Sidley & Austin in Los Angeles from 1985 to 1990; an associate at Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles from 1981 to 1983; and an associate at Sachs & Phelps in Los Angeles from 1983 to 1985. He also had been "Of Counsel" to Stutman, Treister & Glatt in Los Angeles from 2002 until coming onto the bench, and previously served in that capacity to Ancel & Dunlap in Indianapolis from 1997 to 2000. Judge Markell received his undergraduate degree in 1977 from Pitzer College and his J.D. in 1980 from King Hall School of Law at the U.C.-Davis, where he graduated first in his class. Following graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk to then Circuit Judge Anthony Kennedy in the Ninth Circuit. The BAP was established in 1979 by the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit as an alternative forum for hearing bankruptcy appeals. Since then, it has disposed of more than 15,000 cases, including more than 5,000 decided on the merits. The substantial body of law that has resulted reflects the work of the 25 bankruptcy judges who have served as BAP members, plus another 57 judges to have served on a pro tem basis.

TOP OF THE PAGE

Find a Lawyer