In re Weinstein

The report of the special master was as follows:

This matter is rather perplexing to me. The only question involved is: Has the bankrupt been guilty of any aet which would be-a bar to his discharge in bankruptcy under the provisions of paragraph b(3) § 32, of the Bankruptcy Act (11 USCA) 1 Under, the facts, as here presented, the authorities cited by counsel for both sides are of very little assistance.

A bankruptcy proceeding is in the nature of a proceeding in equity. The sections of the law referred to above were, in my judgment, framed as they are by the Congress from that standpoint. He who comes into a court of equity must come with clean hands. That doctrine is limited in its application, of course, to the condition of petitioner’s hands in the particular matter before the court.

I do not believe that the Congress intended to bar the door to a sinner who has repented. I do not believe that the sins of a lifetime, which are wholly unrelated to a matter before a court, should be regarded by a court, unless it appear that the sinner is unrepentant and still engaged in his evil course.

As I get the facts, the false statement made by the bankrupt in 1923 and 1924 was in…