The Next Supreme Court Landmark

“…The Justices agree to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of SEC administrative law judges…

…Mr. Jarkesy argues that a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act allowing the SEC to adjudicate enforcement actions and seek civil penalties in its in-house courts violates his Seventh Amendment right to a trial by jury. Before Dodd-Frank, the SEC had to litigate fraud claims in Article III federal courts where defendants enjoy more procedural rights.

He also says Congress improperly delegated to the SEC unreviewable power to choose whether to bring charges either in its in-house or federal court. The SEC has increasingly chosen the former because it has a home-court advantage. At the time of Mr. Jarkesy’s trial in 2014, the agency had won 100% of 200 contested cases compared to 61% in federal courts.
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The fundamental constitutional problem is that the SEC combines enforcement and judicial power, acting as prosecutor, judge and jury. This constitutional danger was underscored last month by the SEC’s disclosure that its enforcement staff had improperly gained access to information intended for commission officials who were adjudicating cases. This included information about Mr. Jarkesy…”

Democrat-controlled but acquiesced in and facilitated by paleo-Republicans. The federal bureaucracy is a monster not described or anticipated in our constitution.