As the lawyers say, let me stipulate that I am not a lawyer.

That said, I have talked to some bankruptcy lawyers lately about where Chrysler or GM might file for bankruptcy if it comes to that.

You'd probably think this is an easy decision. Automakers = Mo Town. Detroit is the Motor City. Autoworkers live in Michigan and Detroit. If an automakers goes bankrupt, they'd go bankrupt in Detroit.

That way, the people most affected by the case -- suppliers, workers, auto executives -- would have an easy commute to court. In fact, it's a few blocks from GM headquarters!

But this is the law we are talking about, so it is not that simple.

Chrysler is now a private company -- Chrysler Holdings LLC. I tired to find out where it is incorporated, but couldn't pin it down. Delaware is a good bet since so many companies incorporate there, and you might think a bankruptcy would be filed there.

But the best bet is on the Southern District of New York -- Manhattan. And that may not be good news for Detroit workers.

According to UCLA Law Professor Lynn LoPucki, going to New York is an "anti-labor move." LoPucki says the New York court tends to favor people who can bring them big cases -- lawyer and debtors.

And last I checked, there were not many autoworkers in Manhattan. If, as appears increasingly likely, Chrysler and GM's future is hashed out in a New York courtroom, most of the the people most affected by the decision won't have a chance to be there while it happens.