The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is widely described as the second most important in the country, just a few city blocks from the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. The federal appeals court, every now and then, is confused with the D.C. Court of Appeals, the highest local court in the District of Columbia.

In 2016, Bernerd Young went to the wrong one—and, on Tuesday, that mix-up cost him in his challenge to about $1 million in penalties levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The D.C. Circuit ruled for the SEC.