Cochran v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 19-10396 (5th Cir. 2020)
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Judicial review of SEC proceedings lies in the courts of appeals after the agency rules. At issue was whether a party may nonetheless raise a constitutional challenge to an SEC enforcement action in federal district court before the agency proceeding ends.
Bound by Bank of La. v. FDIC, 919 F.3d 916 (5th Cir. 2019), and in accord with the unanimous view of other circuits, the Fifth Circuit held that the statutory review scheme is the exclusive path for asserting a constitutional challenge to SEC proceedings. In this case, the court held that the Thunder Basin analysis does not show that Congress exempted plaintiff's claims from the common path for judicial review of agency action—direct appeal to a court of appeals after the agency rules—that it adopted for the SEC. The court explained that plaintiff may raise her removal-power claim before the ALJ and, if she loses before the agency, in a court of appeals. Furthermore, she may even be able to get her claim all the way to the Supreme Court, but she cannot circumvent the statutory review scheme by litigating it now in a federal trial court. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment and dissolved the stay of the SEC proceeding.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 12, 2020.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 30, 2020.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 13, 2021.
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