stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a major tool in fighting securities fraud in a 6-3 vote that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have the right to a jury trial in federal court. The in-house proceedings the SEC has used in some civil fraud complaints violate the Constitution, the court said.
The SEC was awarded more than $5 billion in civil penalties in the 2023 government spending year that ended Sept. 30, the agency said in a news release.The justices ruled in a 6-3 vote that people accused of fraud by the SEC, which regulates securities markets, have the right to a jury trial in federal court.It was unclear how much of that money came through in-house proceedings or lawsuits in federal court.
The agency had already reduced the number of cases it brings in administrative proceedings pending the Supreme Court’s resolution of the case.Citigroup urges staffers to 'keep cool' as anti-Israel protesters surround NYC headquartersThe high court rejected arguments advanced by President Biden’s administration that relied on a 50-year-old decision in which the court ruled that in-house proceedings did not violate the Constitution’s right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits.
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 appeals court 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.The SEC, headed by Gary Gensler, was awarded more than $5 billion in civil penalties in the 2023 government spending year that ended Sept. 30. It was unclear how much of that money came through in-house proceedings or lawsuits in federal court.