In NCLA Amicus Win, Supreme Court Restores Americans’ Rights to Trial by Jury
June 27 2024 - 12:01PM
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow for freedom and
restored the precious right to a trial by jury for Americans
confronting the Administrative State. The Court affirmed the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in SEC v.
Jarkesy, overturning the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
unconstitutional administrative prosecution regime. SEC targeted
investment professional and syndicated talk-radio host George R.
Jarkesy, Jr. in a years-long administrative proceeding adjudicated
by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) without a jury. Agreeing with
the New Civil Liberties Alliance’s amicus curiae brief in the case,
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that SEC violated Mr. Jarkesy’s Seventh
Amendment right to a jury trial. NCLA celebrates this historic
victory over SEC’s abuse of power, vindicating Americans’ civil
liberties.
NCLA has supported Mr. Jarkesy’s cause and
collaborated with his counsel for many years. They deserve the
credit for this magnificent outcome. NCLA is gratified that the
Supreme Court followed our lead, holding that the Seventh Amendment
right to a jury trial applies to administrative proceedings. This
decision revives one of the most important liberty protections in
the Bill of Rights. Its logic applies to all federal agency
proceedings, not just those at the SEC. All litigants should insist
on their jury-trial rights in these tribunals from now on,
especially whenever an agency seeks financial penalties. Because
ALJ proceedings lack juries, the Supreme Court’s decision may
require SEC to pursue many enforcement cases only in federal
district court, where constitutional due process and jury
trial protections can be assured. The Court held that, other than
cases in admiralty and equity, jury trials are required. It appears
to have narrowed the ‘public rights’ doctrine considerably, which
has been too widely used to deny jury-trial rights in the past.
“A defendant facing a fraud suit has the right
to be tried by a jury of his peers before a neutral adjudicator.
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,” said Chief Justice Roberts. “That
is the very opposite of the separation of powers that the
Constitution demands. Jarkesy and Patriot28 are entitled to a jury
trial in an Article III court.”
NCLA’s amicus brief also pointed out that SEC’s
ALJs have enjoyed multiple layers of protection from removal by the
President. The Supreme Court did not reach that issue in its
opinion, which has now appeared in front of the justices in various
forms in the Lucia, Gibson, Cochran, and Jarkesy cases. Surely the
Court will weigh in on that problem soon. But make no mistake,
today’s decision is a massive victory for freedom.
NCLA released the following
statements:
“This is a day to rejoice! The Supreme Court’s
restoration of Americans’ constitutional guarantee of a right to be
tried by a jury of their peers marks a historic declaration of
independence from decades of encroachments by the Administrative
State. The Dodd-Frank Act’s attempt to extinguish Americans’
jury-trial protections by sweeping securities prosecutions into the
SEC’s notoriously biased in-house courts—where agencies prevail
90-100% of the time—has come to a well-deserved end.” —
Peggy Little, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“Congratulations to George Jarkesy and his
courageous counsel! Others told them that a Seventh Amendment
argument stood no chance, but Mike McColloch and Karen Cook refused
to listen. Their perseverance has won a mighty victory against
injustice by persuading the Supreme Court to restore jury trial
rights to all Americans. What’s more, this landmark decision does
not just apply to adjudications at the SEC, it also applies to
every other federal agency that engages in similar kinds of
unconstitutional administrative adjudication.”— Mark Chenoweth,
President, NCLA
For more information visit the amicus
page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights
group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to
protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the
Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other
pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and
federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that
will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Ruslan Moldovanov
New Civil Liberties Alliance
202-869-5237
ruslan.moldovanov@ncla.legal