Staff Reports
So the Supreme Court has finally done something right for a change, delivering a resounding slap to the overreaching hand of federal bureaucracy. In SEC v. Jarkesy, et al., the justices decided that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can’t just drag defendants accused of securities fraud in front of administrative law judges without providing them the constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury trial. Can you hear the Founding Fathers cheering?
The question at hand was whether the Seventh Amendment allows the SEC to force people to defend themselves before an agency rather than a jury in federal court. Surprise, surprise, the Court ruled 6-3 that it does not. The practices of these federal bureaucrats were found to be in clear violation of the Seventh Amendment’s right to a trial by jury. Seems like common sense finally prevailed over administrative tyranny.
How can we accept any ruling the far-left judges prevail on or support? They obviously have no loyalty to the #Constitution.
SCOTUS Delivers Stinging Rebuke to Federal Bureaucrats https://t.co/zj7KA3VsPE— Jacobite (@JacobiteRebel46) June 27, 2024
Chief Justice Roberts, leading the majority opinion, emphasized that any defendant facing a fraud charge deserves to be tried by a jury of their peers in an unbiased court. He cautioned that the dissenting justices apparently thought it was acceptable for Congress to centralize the roles of prosecutor, judge, and jury within the Executive Branch. This, folks, is precisely the kind of power consolidation the Constitution was designed to prevent. Roberts stressed that the Constitution’s separation of powers is there to protect individual liberty, something this case’s namesakes are entitled to.
Justice Gorsuch, always ready to channel the wisdom of America’s forefathers, reminded us that the right to a jury trial dates back to the American Revolution. The British, much like the modern SEC, used to bypass local courts in favor of more convenient and biased tribunals. The Founders saw to it that America wouldn’t backslide into such tyranny. So, in true Gorsuch fashion, he pointed out that today’s administrative courts are eerily reminiscent of those old vice-admiralty courts. History truly does repeat itself.
In closing, Gorsuch eloquently asserted that constitutional rights exist to protect everyone, not just the favored elite. Cases often begin with the unpopular, but erosion of rights never ends there. The Court’s decision should send a loud message: federal agencies can’t just steamroll over citizens with biased, jury-less procedures. The Constitution established high walls to ensure fair trials and independent judges, and it’s refreshing to see the Supreme Court reaffirm those principles.
This ruling marks a historic pushback against the administrative state, a return to justice, and a significant affirmation of Americans’ jury trial rights. No matter how the SEC wants to handle its prosecutions, it will now have to do so by the book, respecting each individual’s constitutional rights. Now that’s something worth celebrating.
