The claim that the Securities and Exchange Commission gets a big boost from bringing enforcement actions before its own administrative law judges has become a matter of lore, at least among the members of the securities defense bar, according to a New York Times commentary today. A decision issued last week by an in-house judge in the case of Barbara Duka, a former Standard & Poor’s ratings service executive, shows that even if there is a benefit, it does not always work to the regulator’s advantage. More important, an issue that has been lurking for almost two years about whether the appointment of these judges was proper under the Constitution looks as if it will come to a head in the Supreme Court’s coming term, according to the commentary.
