Politics: Fifth Circuit Nonsense

jthomas666

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Really, we need a thread just for these maniacs.


The SEC brought an enforcement action within the agency against Petitioners for securities fraud. An SEC administrative law judge adjudged Petitioners liable and ordered various remedies, and the SEC affirmed on appeal over several constitutional arguments that Petitioners raised. Petitioners raise those same arguments before this court. We hold that: (1) the SEC’s in-house adjudication of Petitioners’ case violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial; (2) Congress unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to the SEC by failing to provide an intelligible principle by which the SEC would exercise the delegated power, in violation of Article I’s vesting of “all” legislative power in Congress; and (3) statutory removal restrictions on SEC ALJs violate the Take Care Clause of Article II. Because the agency proceedings below were unconstitutional, we GRANT the petition for review, VACATE the decision of the SEC, and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Regulations? We don't need no steenking regulations!!
 

92tide

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May 9, 2000
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TIDE-HSV

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Oct 13, 1999
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What's wrong with the 5th Circuit ruling that the defendants were entitled to a jury trail?
The constitution says that the right to a jury trial "would be preserved." The instances in which it applied were well understood - civil trials for money damages and criminal trials. If you wanted to sue someone to stop doing something, or make them do something, you had to go to the chancery (religious) courts in England. Here, they became courts sitting in equity. There, a jury was never involved, only a judge. An administrative judge is not understood to be a member of the judiciary at all. He/she is a member of the executive branch. Needless to say, when jury trials evolved, there was no such animal as securities fraud. I haven't had time to do more than scan the opinion, but, offhand, it seems to be an extraordinary expansion of the jury trial right...
 

JDCrimson

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Feb 12, 2006
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I thought Republicans were against settling matters in front of incompetent juries...
 

PaulD

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It would seem to apply to the entire FAR and more...
Most of my career as an Air Force lawyer was in the field of acquisitions law. Until now, you haven't been able to sue in Federal court (and get a jury) if you get in a dispute with the Government over your contract. You've had a choice between taking your case to a Board of Contract Appeals or the Court of Federal Claims, neither of which do jury trials. If you want to dispute why you didn't get a contract in the first place, you have to go either to the Government Accountability Office or the Court of Federal Claims. Again, no jury trials. I'm sure it won't take long for someone representing a company in the Fifth Circuit to try to use this.
 
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TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
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Oct 13, 1999
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Most of my career as an Air Force lawyer was in the field of acquisitions law. Until now, you haven't been able to sue in Federal court (and get a jury) if you get in a dispute with the Government over your contract. You've had a choice between taking your case to a Board of Contract Appeals or the Court of Federal Claims, neither of which do jury trials. If you want to dispute why you didn't get a contract in the first place, you have to go either to the Government Accountability Office or the Court of Federal Claims. Again, no jury trials. I'm sure it won't take long for someone representing a company in the Fifth Circuit to try to use this.
It's SCOTUS-worthy...
 
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