In Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. F.T.C., 598 U.S. ___ (No. 21-86) (April 14, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court very recently decreed that constitutional challenges to regulatory power need not be relegated to agency administrative law judges, but rather are cognizable in the district courts. In the first installment of this two-part series, we exposited the foundation for this newest edict. Now we turn to Axon itself.

Two Challengers, One Question

In truth, Axon is less about the titular petitioner, and more about the conjoined action, S.E.C. v. Cochran (No. 21-1239). Therein Michelle Cochran, a certified public accountant (CPA), having already received an adverse ruling from a Commission ALJ, was about to be subjected to a fresh enforcement action, as a direct result of the high court’s decision in Lucia v. S.E.C. (SEC ALJs held office in violation of the Appointments Clause).