SCOTUS to Hear SEC Case       11/29 06:52

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a challenge to 
the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to fight fraud, part of a 
broad attack on regulatory agencies led by conservative and business interests.

   The case before the justices Wednesday involves the Biden administration's 
appeal of a lower-court ruling that threw out stiff financial penalties imposed 
on hedge fund manager George R. Jarkesy by the SEC.

   The high court's decision could have far-reaching effects on the SEC and 
other regulatory agencies, and it's just one of several cases this term that 
could constrict federal regulators. The court's conservative majority has 
already reined them in, including in last May's decision sharply limiting their 
ability to police water pollution in wetlands.

   Last year, a divided panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court 
of Appeals ruled in favor of Jarkesy and his Patriot28 investment adviser group 
on three separate issues.

   It found that the SEC's case against him, resulting in a $300,000 civil fine 
and the repayment of $680,000 in allegedly ill-gotten gains, should have been 
heard in a federal court instead of before one of the SEC's administrative law 
judges.

   The panel also said Congress unconstitutionally granted the SEC "unfettered 
authority" to decide whether the case should be tried in a court of law or 
handled within the executive branch agency. And it said laws shielding the 
commission's administrative law judges from being fired by the president are 
unconstitutional.

   Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote the appellate opinion, joined by Judge 
Andrew Oldham. Elrod was appointed by former President George W. Bush, and 
Oldham by former President Donald Trump.

   Judge Eugene Davis, a nominee of former President Ronald Reagan, dissented.

   Jarkesy's lawyers noted that the SEC wins almost all the cases it brings in 
front of the administrative law judges but only about 60% of cases tried in 
federal court.

   The SEC was awarded more than $4 billion in civil penalties in the 2022 
government spending year, the Justice Department wrote in court papers.

   A decision upholding the 5th Circuit's ruling could sweep far more broadly, 
calling into question the authority of administrative law judges at numerous 
federal agencies, the Justice Department said.

   A decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, 22-859, is expected by early summer.