Who is Judge Steven Rhodes?

Plenty of ink has been spilled over the judge, a nearly 30-year veteran of the bankruptcy bench. But what do we know about him? Bankruptcy Beat has rounded up past coverage of the judge in case you’d like a refresher.

• The judge can rock out. Since 2004, he’s played guitar in a band of bankruptcy professionals.

• He prefers order in his court. Last year, Judge Rhodes implemented rules for media covering the Detroit case to make sure they don’t disrupt proceedings.

• He’s thoughtful and thorough. It seems obvious for a federal judge, but Judge Rhodes took it one step further this year by requesting his own experts to help him sort through Detroit’s complex restructuring proposal.

• He’s no-nonsense. The judge recently called out a major law firm and its bond insurer client for their allegedly “highly personal attack” on mediators in the case.

• He’s willing to leave the courtroom and shoulder controversy but unwilling to throw caution to the wind. Last month, Judge Rhodes hopped on a bus to tour Motor City. Over more than three hours, he got a bird’s eye view of urban blight and efforts at regrowth. While he took the tour over the objections of certain creditors, he did so with the protection of the U.S. Marshals Service and barred reporters from joining him on the bus.

• He has tried to look out for city residents. This summer, the judge weighed in on Detroit’s controversial move of cutting off water for delinquent customers and has given regular Joes the chance to participate in court.

-Katy Stech contributed to this blog post.

Write to Jacqueline Palank at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @PalankJ.