May 17, 2024
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.
February 08, 2024
The D.C. Circuit spent more than two hours Thursday debating the future of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with the judges seemingly divided on whether the private organization is subject to the same constitutional restraints imposed on government agencies, or if it can continue punishing broker-dealers that violate its rules without additional oversight.
November 06, 2023
An international bar association representing investors has urged the D.C. Circuit Court not to "erode essential guardrails" by finding the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority unconstitutional, warning of "calamitous effects" for investors if the agency ceases its regulatory and enforcement functions.
October 31, 2023
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says a recent Fifth Circuit decision in favor of Nasdaq supports its claim that it is not a state actor open to constitutional challenges as it attempts to fend off a "recidivist" broker-dealer arguing the self-regulatory organization unconstitutionally wields governmental power.
September 07, 2023
The nonprofit New Civil Liberties Alliance and a conservative business group backed by former U.S. Attorney General William Barr have asked the D.C. Circuit to end the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's use of administrative hearings and curb its "unconstitutional" use of executive power.
September 05, 2023
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday asked the D.C. Circuit to address "unnecessary comments" made by a lower court judge overseeing a constitutional challenge lobbed against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, saying that the judge called into question the board's own status as a regulator even though it wasn't part of the case.
August 30, 2023
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority improperly exercises enforcement power derived from the government and claims governmental immunity while skirting the constitutional obligations of government actors, a broker-dealer has argued before the D.C. Circuit.