Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge To FTC Administrative Process

This week, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Axon Enterprise Inc.'s (Axon) challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) administrative process. Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, U.S. No. 21-86, cert. granted 1/24/22. In a case that has been ongoing since 2020, the Supreme Court granted Axon's petition for writ of certiorari on a single issue: "Whether Congress impliedly stripped federal district courts of jurisdiction over constitutional challenges to the [FTC's] structure, procedures, and existence by granting the courts of appeals jurisdiction to 'affirm, enforce, modify, or set aside' the commission's cease-and-desist orders." A favorable ruling from the Supreme Court could open the floodgates to a wave of constitutional challenges to the FTC, and other executive branch regulatory agencies.