ACCOMPLISHMENTS/INNOVATIONS
- Judge Sheri Bluebond was selected to assume the post of Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the next four years. She will succeed Chief Judge Peter H. Carroll, who has served as Chief Bankruptcy Judge since 2011. Judge Bluebond will be the seventh Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District and has served as a bankruptcy judge since 2001. On November 6, in recognition for her contributions to bankruptcy adjudication and service to the community, the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Association (cdcbaa) presented Judge Bluebond with the Calvin Ashland Judge of the Year award.
- In February, the Clerk’s Office launched the full version of its online chat program. Visitors to the Court’s website can enter into real-time chat with a representative of the Call Center to ask specific procedural questions about bankruptcy.
- On June 20, Judge Scott H. Yun was appointed to his first term on the bankruptcy bench. Judge Yun serves in the Riverside Division.
- In September, the Court made bankruptcy filing software available to pro se debtors through its website. The Electronic Self-Representation (eSR) program enables self-represented debtors to prepare and submit chapter 7 petitions electronically.
- The Court adopted the electronic noticing pilot, DeBN, on a permanent basis, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) made the program available to bankruptcy courts throughout the nation. Electronic noticing saves money, reduces paper waste, and improves communication with debtors.