5th Circuit to decide en banc if constitutional challenge can block SEC administrative proceeding
November 2, 2020
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has given Michelle Cochran one more chance to block the Securities and Exchange Commission from pushing ahead with an administrative proceeding against her.
Cochran, a certified public accountant from Texas, has already been through one administrative proceeding before an SEC judge. In 2017, Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot ruled that Cochran violated the Securities and Exchange Act by failing to adhere to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards in her auditing work for several companies between 2011 and 2013. The ALJ’s initial determination barred Cochran from appearing as an accountant before the SEC for five years and ordered her to pay a civil penalty of $22,500.
