A Delicate Balancing Act: Satisfying the Fourth Amendment While Protecting the Bankruptcy System from Debtor Fraud

Sousa, Michael D., Yale Journal on Regulation

Since the Middle Ages, bankruptcy laws have been concerned with preventing and deterring fraudulent debtors, most notably debtors who willfully fail to fully disclose all of their assets to their creditors. This concern was no less prevalent during the passage of the first Bankruptcy Act in the United States in 1800, which established bankruptcy fraud as a criminal offense. No doubt, the evolution of modern American bankruptcy law has moved toward a more liberal treatment of debtors. Significantly, so long as debtors conform to certain behavioral norms prescribed in the Bankruptcy Code, honest, but unfortunate debtors can expect to receive a discharge of their pre-petition indebtedness. …

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Publication information: Article title: A Delicate Balancing Act: Satisfying the Fourth Amendment While Protecting the Bankruptcy System from Debtor Fraud. Contributors: Sousa, Michael D. - Author. Journal title: Yale Journal on Regulation. Volume: 28. Issue: 2 Publication date: Summer 2011. Page number: 367+. © Yale University School of Law Winter 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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