SEC Administrative Law Judges are Unconstitutional

James Madison once said that the concentration of all government powers in one branch is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet, today, administrative agencies regularly exercise all three of those powers. They issue rules with the force of law. They enforce laws. And they prosecute people through a system of administrative proceedings before administrative law judges or ALJs, who are hired by the agency prosecuting you. NCLA client Michelle Cochran fell prey to this system in 2016, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused her of violating federal accounting standards.

December 17, 2020