Any lawfags here to weigh in on this?
SEC judge appointments unconstitutional, U.S. high court says
The U.S. Supreme Court gave presidents more control over key jobs in federal agencies on Thursday, ruling that the way the Securities and Exchange Commission selected in-house judges who enforce investor protection laws violated the U.S. Constitution.
The justices agreed with President Donald Trump’s administration that the SEC, in having low-level staff install administrative law judges, infringed upon powers given to the president in the U.S. Constitution’s “appointments clause” regarding the filling of certain federal posts.
The ruling could reverberate through the federal government, which has nearly 2,000 administrative law judges who decide matters as varied as unfair trade practices, veterans benefits and patent infringement.
The court’s 7-2 decision backed Raymond Lucia, a California-based former radio host and investment adviser who was banned by an SEC administrative law judge from investment-related work and fined $300,000 for making misleading claims in his “Buckets of Money” retirement wealth strategy.
The ruling marked a victory for the Republican president, who has sought to limit the power of certain federal agencies. Trump’s administration sided with Lucia, reversing the government’s previous stance supporting the SEC taken by the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-sec/sec-judge-appointments-unconstitutional-u-s-high-court-says-idUSKBN1JH224