The conservatives on the Supreme Court seem to have some doubts about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) use of administrative law judges to adjudicate cases involving alleged securities law violations. They have argued that these kinds of in-house tribunals should not be allowed to exercise the “significant legal authority” of judicial review. They have shown skepticism regarding the SEC’s broad ability to appoint administrative law judges and may be inclined to limit the SEC’s authority to do so. The Court could also impose stricter requirements for the operation of these tribunals in order to provide more due process protections to those accused of securities law violations.
