I think 341 hearings might have been briefly mentioned in the reading so I'd like to elaborate on it a little more. Before the debtor can get a discharge he must attend a 341 hearing. The hearing is at the bankruptcy court but the people running it are not employees of the court (ie. there is no judge presiding). The person running the hearing is a trustee.
The hearing room is usually packed with debtors and their attorneys waiting to be heard. There may be some creditors although very few actually come. The trustee will call each case in order. When the debtor gets called the get asked a few questions and then they are dismissed and the case is over. The questions are basically if the debtor is hiding any assets or the trustee may ask a few questions concerning the debtors petition but thats pretty much it. I only once saw a creditor actually dispute something in the hearing and the matter was just continued.
The ordinary case is actually very boring. The debtor is severely insolvent and will have no assets. They give whatever they have and get their discharge. The 341 hearing is just a formality and usually does not bring up any issues. I don't see how it could considering the trustee only asks a few simple questions.
By reading the code, it seems to me that there could be more to section 341 than just seeing if the debtor is hiding assets. Section 341 subsection d, appears to be that the purpose of this meeting is to inform the debtor of his bankruptcy, options, and consequences of filing for bankruptcy. I think while this could be repetitive, given that the person has retained counsel, I could see how this is helpful for both parties. Although, maybe in real life this was applied, much like in the court you worked at. If the debtor is severely insolvent and with no assets, I would think that this is just a formality as well, because at that point, like you said, there's usually no issues.
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