Clause required new administrative law judge on remand

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted January 12, 2022 11:06 AM

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a decision by an administrative law judge at the Securities and Exchange Commission was invalid because the ALJ’s appointment — by the SEC’s staff — violated the U.S. Constitution’s appointments clause, Lucia v. S.E.C., 138 S.Ct. 2044 (2019), the ALJs who handle Social Security claims faced the same challenge. The commissioner of Social Security responded by directly reappointing the department’s ALJs. But there was a lingering problem.Subject to Senate approval, the president …

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