Supreme Court conservatives seem dubious about SEC’s in-house tribunals

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices seemed to express skepticism on Tuesday toward a system that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set up to quickly pursue cases in-house, instead of in federal court. During a hearing, conservative justices suggested that the SEC’s administrative law judges are not properly insulated from political influence, and that allowing the SEC to handle cases in-house may give it too much power. Chief Justice John Roberts voiced concern about the fact that administrative law judges are “employees of an agency that’s trying to decide a case” and asked if that undermines the independence of the judiciary. Justice Neil Gorsuch also suggested that the SEC’s system may be unconstitutional. The case is seen as a key test of the separation of powers and its impact on the individual rights of American citizens.