18 U.S.C. § 151
Section 151 · Definition
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 24 court decisions — leading case United States v. Moody (1991)
Most recently applied in Taylor v. Crawford (In re Crawford) (June 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
As used in this chapter, the term “debtor” means a debtor concerning whom a petition has been filed under title 11.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on section 52(f) of title 11, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Bankruptcy (July 1, 1898, ch. 541, §29f as added June 22, 1938, ch. 575, §1, 52 Stat. 857).
Definition of “bankruptcy” was added to avoid repetitious references to said title 11.
Minor changes in phraseology was made.
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “means” for “mean”.
1978—Pub. L. 95–598 substituted “Definition” for “Definitions” in section catchline, substituted definition of “debtor” as a debtor concerning whom a petition has been filed under title 11 for definition of “bankrupt” as a debtor by or against whom a petition has been filed under title 11, and struck out definition of “bankruptcy” as including any proceeding, arrangement, or plan pursuant to title 11.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 95–598 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.
Savings Provision
Amendment by section 314 of Pub. L. 95–598 not to affect the application of chapter 9 (§151 et seq.), chapter 96 (§1961 et seq.), or section 2516, 3057, or 3284 of this title to any act of any person (1) committed before Oct. 1, 1979, or (2) committed after Oct. 1, 1979, in connection with a case commenced before such date, see section 403(d) of Pub. L. 95–598, set out as a note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.
Cross References
General definitions, see section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy.