Cite as: 514 U. S. 300 (1995)
Stevens, J., dissenting
The 1984 amendments, inter alia, repealed § 1481 (and its express limitation on injunctive authority), leaving § 105 as the only source of the bankruptcy judge's injunctive authority.16 Given that Northern Pipeline required a contraction in the authority of bankruptcy judges,17 and given that the 1984 amendments regarding the powers of the bankruptcy courts were passed to comply with Northern Pipeline,18 it
would be perverse—and in my view "frivolous"—to contend that Congress intended the repeal of § 1481 to operate as an authorization for those judges to enjoin proceedings in other courts, thus significantly expanding the powers of bankruptcy judges.
My view of the consequence of the 1984 amendments is reinforced by the structure of § 1481. When Congress placed restrictions on the injunctive power of the bankruptcy courts, it did so in § 1481, right after the clause granting those courts "the powers of a court of equity, law, and admiralty." In my view, this suggests that Congress saw § 1481—and not § 105(a)—as the source of any power to enjoin other courts. Thus, the removal of § 1481 by the 1984 amendments is properly viewed as eliminating the sole source of congressionally granted authority to enjoin other courts. Cf. In re Hipp, 895 F. 2d 1503, 1515-1516 (CA5 1990) (concluding on similar reasoning that § 1481, not § 105(a), was the source of the bankruptcy court's power to punish criminal contempt under the 1978 Act).
16 The 1984 amendments also repealed the authorization of bankruptcy judges to act pursuant to the All Writs Act. See 2 Collier ¶ 105.01[1], at 105-3.
17 The plurality opinion expressly noted its concerns about the bankruptcy judge's exercise of broad injunctive powers. See n. 7, supra.
18 See, e. g., 130 Cong. Rec. 20089 (1984) ("[Northern Pipeline] held that the broad powers granted to bankruptcy judges under the Bankruptcy Act of 1978 were judicial powers and violated Article III of the Constitution. The present Bill attempts to cure the problem").
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