316
Stevens, J., dissenting
The opinion supporting that order explained that Paragraphs 1 and 2 rested in part on the theory that the debtor retains a property interest in the supersedeas bonds until the appellate process was complete, and any attempt to collect on those bonds was therefore covered in the first instance by § 362(a)'s automatic stay provisions. The opinion recognized that that rationale did not cover supersedeas bonds posted in litigation with judgment creditors, such as the Edwards, whose appellate process was complete. The Bankruptcy Judge concluded, however, that § 105(a) gave him the power to stay the collection efforts of such bonded judgment creditors. The Bankruptcy Judge contended that other courts had utilized the § 105(a) stay "to preclude actions which may 'impede the reorganization process,' " id., at 483, quoting In re Johns-Manville Corp., 837 F. 2d 89, 93 (CA2), cert. denied, 488 U. S. 868 (1988), or " 'which will have an adverse impact on the Debtor's ability to formulate a Chapter 11 plan,' " 128 B. R., at 483, quoting A. H. Robins Co. v. Piccinin, 788 F. 2d 994 (CA4), cert. denied, 479 U. S. 876 (1986). But cf. n. 12, infra. Apparently viewing his own authority as virtually limitless, the Bankruptcy Judge described a general bankruptcy power "to stop ongoing litigation and to prevent peripheral court decisions from dealing with issues . . . without first allowing the bankruptcy court to have an opportunity to review the potential effect on the debtor." 128 B. R., at 484. He concluded that in "mega" cases in which "potential conflicts with other judicial determinations" might arise, "the powers of the bankruptcy court under Section 105 must in the initial stage be absolute." Ibid.
I do not agree that the powers of a bankruptcy judge, a non-Article III judge, "must . . . be absolute" at the initial stage or indeed at any stage. Instead, the jurisdiction and the power of bankruptcy judges are cabined by specific and important statutory and constitutional constraints that operate at every phase of a bankruptcy. In my view, those con-
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