Cite as: 514 U. S. 300 (1995)
Stevens, J., dissenting
V
The Court's holding today rests largely on its view that the Edwards' proper remedy is to appeal the Bankruptcy Judge's injunction, first to the District Court and then to the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The Court concedes, however, that the Edwards need not do so if the Bankruptcy Judge exceeded his jurisdiction, or if the injunction is supported by nothing more than "a frivolous pretense to validity." Ante, at 312. For the reasons already stated, I think both of those conditions are satisfied in this case. The non-Article III Bankruptcy Judge simply lacked both jurisdiction and authority to prevent an Article III court from exercising its unquestioned jurisdiction to decide a matter that is related only indirectly to the bankruptcy proceeding. I think it important, however, to add a few brief words explaining why I find this injunction especially troubling and why the injunction should be viewed with a particularly critical eye.
First, the justification offered by the Bankruptcy Judge should give the Court pause. As originally articulated, the justification for this injunction was that emergency relief was required lest the reorganization of Celotex become impossible and liquidation follow. Apart from the fact that the "emergency" rationale is plainly insufficient to support an otherwise improper injunction that has now lasted for more than four years, the judge's reasoning reveals reliance on the misguided notion that a good end is a sufficient justification for the existence and exercise of power. His reference to the need to exercise "absolute" power to override "potential conflicts with other judicial determinations" that might have a "potential impact on the debtor" should invite far
F. 2d 584 (CA5 1988); In re Air Conditioning, Inc. of Stuart, 845 F. 2d 293, 295-296 (CA11), cert. denied sub nom. First Interstate Credit Alliance v. American Bank of Martin County, 488 U. S. 993 (1988). Thus, in my view, those cases cannot form the basis for any nonfrivolous argument that Northbrook may avoid its obligation to pay the Edwards.
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