In In re Gruntz (9th Cir. 2000) 202 F.3d 1074, a Chapter 11 debtor unsuccessfully requested the bankruptcy court to void state criminal prosecutions for his willful failure to pay child support (Pen. Code, 270) on the basis that they violated the statutory automatic stay ( 362). (Id. at p. 1077.) The Ninth Circuit framed the issues as "(1) whether a state court modification of the bankruptcy automatic stay binds federal courts; and (2) whether the automatic stay enjoins a criminal prosecution for the willful failure to pay . . . ." (Ibid.) In Gruntz, supra, 202 F.3d 1074 the Ninth Circuit held among other things: "Federal courts are not bound by state court modifications of the automatic stay." (Id. at p. 1077, see also p. 1087.) The court made clear: "Bankruptcy courts have the ultimate authority to determine the scope of the automatic stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. 362(a), subject to federal appellate review. A state does not have the power to modify or dissolve the automatic stay." (Id. at p. 1087.)