Daily Brew: SEC administrative law judges must be appointed by president, SCOTUS says

June 22, 2018

Plus Oklahoma voters will decide medical marijuana initiative on Tuesday   SCOTUS in Lucia v. SEC: SEC administrative law judges are subject to Appointments Clause The United States Supreme Court held 7-2 in Lucia v. SEC that the administrative law judges (ALJs) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are “Officers of the United States" subject to the Appointments Clause. The ruling noted that ALJs exercise significant authority because their decisions may become final decisions if the SEC declines to review the ruling. It relied on the precedent established in Freytag v. Commissioner (1991). Lucia argued that a proceeding resulting in an adverse ruling from an SEC ALJ had been unconstitutional because the ALJ had not been properly appointed. Lucia argued that the ALJ was an Officer of the United States within the meaning of the Appointments Clause; therefore, Lucia claimed, the ALJ's appointment had to have been directly ratified by the SEC. The SEC had argued that its ALJs were agency employees, not Officers of the United States. “[T]he ‘appropriate' remedy for an adjudication tainted with an appointments violation is a new 'hearing before a properly appointed' official,” stated Kagan. “And today we hold nothing more. … To cure the constitutional error, another ALJ (or the Commission itself) must hold the new hearing.” Learn more         Oklahoma voters will decide medical marijuana initiative on Tuesday State Question 788, on Oklahoma's June 26 ballot, would legalize marijuana for medical purposes in Oklahoma. Obtaining a state-issued medical marijuana license would require a board-certified physician's signature. There would be no specific qualifying conditions to receive medical marijuana. People with licenses would be permitted to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana on their person and 8 ounces of marijuana in their residence. A 7 percent tax would be levied on marijuana sales, with revenue being allocated to administrative costs, education, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Licenses would be required to operate dispensaries, commercial growing operations, and processing operations. Municipalities would be prohibited from restricting zoning laws to prevent marijuana dispensaries. What do supporters and opponents of the measure say? #FridayFact How many administrative law judges (ALJ) are employed by federal government agencies? 1,931 376 943 1,045