In a much-anticipated opinion issued last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit-court split, holding that the administrative law judges (“ALJs”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) are “officers” subject to the requirements of the Appointments Clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution. Reversing the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Supreme Court held that a rehearing of the matter by a constitutionally-appointed ALJ or by the Commission itself is required, leaving some wondering about the finality of other cases heard by the Commission’s ALJs and about its implications for matters before administrative judges at other agencies.
