As discussed here previously, on August 22, 2008 the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to oversee auditors was constitutional. A Las Vegas accounting firm had challenged the board’s legality in a 2006 lawsuit, arguing its makeup violated the Constitution’s separation of powers clause.
In a petition filed Friday, the losing side in that ruling asked the D.C. Circuit to rehear the case, arguing that PCAOB is unconstitutional because it denies the U.S. president his appointment powers and the ability to fire bureaucrats who disagree with his policy goals, according to the American Lawyer.
The petitioners are reportedly represented by a group led by Jones Day and former U.S. solicitor general Kenneth Starr, while PCAOB is represented by its general counsel, J. Gordon Seymour, and Jeffrey Lamken of Baker Botts.
[…] a hotly-contested case that has been discussed here in several posts, The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider a constitutional challenge to the Public Company […]