Supreme Court Leaves In-House Judges in Limbo Governmentwide (1)

The Supreme Court’s ruling that the SEC’s in-house judges are constitutional officers left open the status of 1,900 other officials in similar roles at agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s five administrative law judges are constitutional officers because they’re continuing employees who wield significant authority, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 21 in a 7-2 decision.

The “sole question” in the case was about whether SEC judges were lawfully appointed, leaving open the status of ALJs at other agencies. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority ...