The U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Litigants Can Bring Constitutional Challenges To Agency Enforcement In Federal District Court

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Author: Ms Melissa Geller and Sarah O'Laughlin Kulik
• Law Firm: Duane Morris LLP
• Published date: 02 May 2023

On April 14, 2023, a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States paved the way for future challenges to the constitutionality of agency enforcement proceedings before administrative law judges. In Axon Enterprises v. FTC and SEC v. Cochran, the Court held that litigants can directly challenge the constitutionality of in-agency enforcement proceedings in federal district court, bypassing "in-house" administrative law courts. Axon and Cochran are illustrative of the Court's increasing scrutiny of administrative agency enforcement mechanisms and the exercise of agency power, such as in Lucia v. SEC, 138 S. Ct. 2044 (2018), in which the Supreme Court invalidated the SEC's process for selecting administrative law judges (ALJs). See also AMG Capital Management v. FTC, 141 S. Ct. 1341 (2021) (rejecting the FTC's ability to obtain restitution or disgorgement in addition to injunctive relief); West Virginia v. EPA,142 S. Ct. 2587...