I recently had a $9K judgement placed against me - if I decide to file bankruptcy, will the judgement go away

It depends on what the judgment is for.

There are some things that can't be dismissed such as taxes, student loans, and child support to name a few.

If it is just a normal civil judgment for something like a repossessed car, or bad credit card debt then yes, it can be dismissed in a chapter 7. If you file chapter 13, nothing gets dismissed, you just end up with a longer term payback plan.