The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative justices seemed highly skeptical Wednesday about the way the Securities and Exchange Commission conducts in-house enforcement proceedings to ensure the integrity of securities markets across the country. The case is one of several this term aimed at dismantling what some conservatives have derisively called "the administrative state."
Wednesday's case was brought by George Jarkesy, a former conservative radio talk show host and hedge fund manager. After a fraud investigation by the SEC and an in-house evidentiary hearing conducted by an administrative law judge, the SEC fined Jarkesy $300,000, ordered him to pay back nearly $700,000 in illicit gains, and barred him from various activities in the securities industry.
