https://www.govexec.com/management/2024/06/supreme-court-de…

Supreme Court deals 'earth-shattering' blow to federal agencies' administrative powers
The court's majority said allowing agencies to enforce laws with fines adjudicated in-house improperly concentrates power within the executive branch. Its minority warned of "momentous consequences."
The Supreme Court on Thursday reversed federal agencies’ longstanding capacity to adjudicate and enforce certain federal laws, dealing the latest in a series of blows to the executive branch’s administrative powers.
In a 6-3 decision, the conservative majority on the court rejected the Biden administration's argument that existing precedent protected agencies as they adjudicated laws written by Congress, instead suggesting individuals and private entities had a right to defend themselves from civil penalties before a jury. The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees a right to a trial before a jury of peers, applies to cases involving administrative penalties, the court ruled.
“A defendant facing a fraud suit has the right to be tried by a jury of his peers before a neutral adjudicator,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “Rather than recognize that right, the dissent would permit Congress to concentrate the roles of prosecutor, judge, and jury in the hands of the executive branch. That is the very opposite of the separation of powers that the Constitution demands.”
The case centered on a hedge fund manager George Jarkesy and investment adviser Patriot28 challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to charge them with securities fraud. The government challenged the case to the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last year ruled in a 2-1 decision against the agency. The circuit court’s objections were threefold, namely that the government imposing a civil penalty without a trial by jury is a violation of the Seventh Amendment, it was an improper delegation of authority for Congress to allow the SEC…