The number of bankruptcy filings in the federal courts in Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 broke records again, and with no new bankruptcy judgeships and funding frozen, the Judiciary is struggling to handle the caseload. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, more bankruptcies were filed in the 12-month period ending 30 September 2002 than at any time in history. Bankruptcy cases for FY 2002 totalled 1,547,669, up 7.7 percent from the 1,437,354 bankruptcy filings for FY 2001. The 2002 Fiscal Year bankruptcy filings total breaks the record just set in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2002, when bankruptcies totalled 1,505,306.
Non-business or personal bankruptcy filings, which make up the majority of bankruptcy filings, also broke records with a total of 1,508,578, up 7.8 percent from the fiscal year 2001 filings. Business filings in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2002, totalled 39,091, up 1.6 percent from the same period in 2001.
