Section 01Role on the Panel
Robert J. Faris sits as a designated member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit, the three-judge appellate forum authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 158(b)(1) and established by order of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit. The panel hears appeals from final judgments, orders, and decrees of the bankruptcy courts within the constituent districts of the circuit when the parties have not elected to have the appeal heard by the district court under 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(1).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 158(b)(1)(A), the panel is composed of bankruptcy judges drawn from districts within the Ninth Circuit. Section 158(b)(5) prohibits a panel member from hearing an appeal arising from his or her own home district, which preserves the appearance of independent appellate review. Each appeal is decided by a panel of three drawn ad hoc from the available pool of designated judges.
Section 02Home District
Robert J. Faris serves full time as an Article I bankruptcy judge of the D. Haw. Bankr. and is designated to BAP service in addition to that primary docket. Article I bankruptcy judges are appointed for renewable 14-year terms by the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the district sits (see 28 U.S.C. § 152), distinct from the Article III appointment process applicable to district and circuit judges.
Home-district court website
https://www.hib.uscourts.gov →
Court-published biographies typically include education, prior practice, appointment date, and chambers location. The FJC Biographical Directory of Federal Judges is the authoritative national index.
Section 03About the 9th Cir. BAP
The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit was established by the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(b)(1). The panel hears appeals from the bankruptcy courts of the constituent districts of the circuit. The panel’s subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158(a) extends to final judgments, orders, and decrees of the bankruptcy courts (§ 158(a)(1)); to interlocutory orders increasing or reducing the time fixed under 11 U.S.C. § 1121(d) for filing a plan (§ 158(a)(2)); and to other interlocutory orders with leave of the panel (§ 158(a)(3)).
The panel's decisions are reviewable on further appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 158(d)(1). On further appeal, the court of appeals applies the same standards to the bankruptcy court’s rulings that the BAP applied; the BAP’s intermediate decision receives no deference on questions of law.
Section 04Election and Opt-Out
Two consent layers govern whether an appeal proceeds to the panel rather than to the district court. The first is district-level: under 28 U.S.C. § 158(b)(6), each district within a BAP circuit may, by majority vote of its district judges, decline to authorize BAP service for appeals from that district. The second is party-level: under 28 U.S.C. § 158(c)(1), even where the district has authorized BAP service, the appeal proceeds to the panel only if all parties consent.
The election mechanic is governed by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8005. A statement of election to have the appeal heard by the district court must be filed within thirty (30) days after service of the notice of appeal (or, if the electing party is the appellant, the election must accompany the notice of appeal). Failure to file a timely election is treated as consent to BAP review. Any one party may force the appeal into the district court by timely electing; no court approval is required.
Section 05Briefing and Calendar
Briefing in the panel is governed by Part VIII of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as supplemented by the panel’s local rules. The default schedule under FRBP 8018 is: appellant’s brief within 30 days after docketing of the appeal in the BAP; appellee’s brief within 30 days after service of the appellant’s brief; appellant’s reply brief within 21 days after service of the appellee’s brief (and at least 7 days before argument). Word and page limits track FRBP 8015 (13,000 words for principal briefs; 6,500 words for reply briefs).
Oral argument is set by the panel after briefing closes. The panel may decide an appeal without argument under FRBP 8019 if the legal arguments are adequately presented in the briefs and oral argument would not significantly aid the decisional process.