The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) practice of using in-house tribunals overseen by an administrative judge to adjudicate securities fraud cases is unconstitutional.

In a 6-3 decision, issued Thursday, SCOTUS ordered the SEC to file complaints involving securities fraud in federal court. The ruling effectively strips away an alternative venue considered to be a home-court advantage by critics of the agency. 

Aaron Nicodemus is the Editor-in-Chief of Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. Email: aaron.nicodemus@complianceweek.com LinkedIn:...