First Circuit Overturns SEC Commissioners' Sanctions Order

As we have discussed before, the SEC's increased use of in-house administrative proceedings in enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud has been a subject of considerable debate. Commentators have questioned the fairness of proceedings where the SEC gains an automatic home field advantage by bringing claims before its own administrative law judges (ALJs), with appeals being heard by the SEC's own commissioners. But a determined defense can still defeat the SEC by ensuring that it plays by the rules, as demonstrated by a decision issued last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for First Circuit in a case where Mintz Levin attorneys Jack Sylvia, Andy Nathanson, Jess Sergi, McKenzie Webster, and Geoff Friedman represented one of the petitioners.