Supreme Court Overturns 4th Circuit Ruling, Unanimously Strikes Down Part of Bankruptcy Law

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor sits during a group photograph of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

When Congress boosted bankruptcy fees but exempted filers in Alabama and North Carolina from the higher fees, it violated a uniformity requirement in the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 6.

The 19-page court opinion (pdf) in Siegel v. Fitzgerald, court file 21-441, was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Oral arguments in the case were heard on April 18.