The Intersection of the U.S. Constitution and Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction: Anna Nicole Smith Goes to Washington

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Maryland Bar Association
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If the practice of bankruptcy law seemed alien and esoteric to non-bankruptcy practitioners prior to the Supreme Court's 2011 decision in Stern v. Marshall,131 S. Ct. 2594 (2011), then the nearly decade-long legal battle between the late jeans model turned reality television star Anna Nicole Smith and the estate of her octogenarian billionaire husband likely did little to alleviate such views regarding the specialized practice of bankruptcy law. Stern is arguably the most significant decision dealing with the constitutional limitations of federal bankruptcy court jurisdiction since N. Pipeline Constr. Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co., 458 U.S. 50 (1982). However, it has raised many more questions than it answers, and the bankruptcy bench and bar are still attempting to unravel the practical implications of the decision several years later.