Partner Emily Renshaw spoke with The Daily Upside about the US Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, which held that the Seventh Amendment of the US Constitution entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, and thus the SEC may not seek such penalties through its own “in-house” administrative enforcement proceedings, which lack juries.
“The federal court provides protections to defendants that weren’t necessarily available through the SEC’s administrative proceeding. This can be viewed as a positive development for respondents and defendants,” Emily said, noting that she does not expect a dramatic shift in how cases are handled generally, as the SEC had been preparing for this decision for over five years.