Raymond J. Lucia, et al., Petitioners v. Securities and Exchange Commission

The Supreme Court issued a decision in a case about whether Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judges count as "Officers of the United States" under the Appointments Clause. The dispute arose from an SEC enforcement case assigned to ALJ Cameron Elliot.

The Court issued a decision on June 21, 2018, but the prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

It matters to people and companies facing SEC in-house hearings, because the answer affects whether those judges were chosen in a constitutionally proper way. For example, a business accused of violating securities laws could challenge a hearing based on how the judge was appointed.

The Supreme Court has finished this docket action. The prompt does not describe any later lower-court or SEC steps after the decision.

The case asked whether SEC administrative law judges are "Officers of the United States" under the Appointments Clause. That determines how they must be appointed.

It affects people and companies judged inside the SEC. A party could challenge a hearing if the judge was not appointed in the constitutionally required way.

The Supreme Court finished its work on this docket on June 21, 2018. The prompt does not describe any later lower-court or agency steps.