U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

Release No. 59837 / April 28, 2009 

Report on Administrative Proceedings 

For Period October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 

Rule 900 of the Commission’s Rule of Practice (17 CFR 201.900) requires the 

Commission’s Secretary to issue a six-month status report on the Commission’s administrative 

proceedings caseload. 

The attached report identifies the number of matters pending before the administrative 

law judges and the Commission at the beginning of the six-month period; the number of matters 

instituted, filed, and disposed of during the period; and the number pending at the end of the 

period. For each category of decision, the report shows the median age of the matters at the time 

of decision and the number of matters decided within the guidelines in Rule 900 for the timely 

completion of adjudicatory proceedings or within the time specified in orders instituting 

proceedings for issuance of an initial decision, or any extension granted by the Commission. 

Finally, the report includes data from the previous two six-month periods. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report on Administrative Proceedings 

for the Period October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 

Matters Before the Administrative Law Judges 

10/01/2008- 

 03/31/2009 

04/01/2008- 

09/30/2008 

10/01/2007- 

03/31/2008 

Number pending at start of period 80 32 56 

New matters added during period 33 106 31 

Subtotal 113 138 87 

Dispositions: 88 58 55 

Initial Decisions 16 10 13 

Other dispositions 

(e.g., settlements, defaults)1 

72 48 42 

Total pending at end of period 25 80 32 

Initial Decisions: 16 10 

Median age at decision (days) 163 224 151 

 Number issued within guideline 

 or specified time period 12 7 11 

Matters Before the Commission 

10/01/2008- 

03/31/2009 

04/01/2008- 

09/30/2008 

10/01/2007- 

03/31/2008 

Review of ALJ Matters2 

Number pending at start of period 13 12 13 

New matters added during period 6 5 6 

Subtotal 

Dispositions: 

19 17 19 

Opinions 4 4 7 

Other dispositions 

(e.g., dismissals) 

3 0 0 

Total pending at end of period 

Opinions: 

12 13 12 

Median age at decision (days) 418 374 419 

Number decided within guideline3 2 0 0 

Matters Before the Commission 

1

 Includes all proceedings disposed of other than by an initial decision, including default orders that dispose of the entire proceeding. 2

 May include review of initial decisions, review of other non-interlocutory ALJ matters, and matters on remand from the Courts of 

Appeals. 3

 Guideline for matters appealed 7/17/03 or later is seven months, or 11 months if the Commission determines that a matter 

presents unusual complicating circumstances. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10/01/2008- 

 03/31/2009 

04/01/2008- 

09/30/2008 

10/01/2007- 

03/31/2008 

Review of Self-Regulatory Organization Decisions4 

Number pending at start of period 17 24 15 

New matters added during period 8 5 21 

Subtotal 

Dispositions: 

25 29 36 

Opinions 13 9 6 

Other dispositions 

(e.g., dismissals, remands)

 0 3 6 

Total pending at end of period 

Dispositions:5 

12 17 24 

Median age at decision (days) 320 268 325 

Number decided within guidelines6 1 3 0 

10/01/2008- 

03/31/2009 

04/01/2008- 

09/30/2008 

10/01/2007- 

03/31/2008 

Miscellaneous Matters 

Interlocutory Motions: 

Number pending at start of period 0 0 0 

Number filed during period 0 0 1 

Number decided during period 0 0 1 

Total pending at end of period 0 0 0 

Median age at decision (days) 0 0 170 

Number decided within 45 days 0 0 0 

Stay Requests: 

Number pending at start of period 0 0 0 

Number filed during period 7 2 7 

Number decided during period 7 2 7 

Total pending at end of period 0 0 0 

Median age at decision (days) 12 3 9 

Number decided within guidelines7 0 2 6 

4

 May include matters filed pursuant to Section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 5

 In previous reports, these statistics only captured the median age and number decided within guidelines for review of SelfRegulatory Organization decisions disposed of by Commission opinion, and did not include reviews of such matters where the 

Commission document disposing of the case was an order of dismissal. Including all dispositions more accurately reflects the 

matters issued by the Commission. 6

 Guideline for matters appealed 7/17/03 or later is seven months, or 11 months if the Commission determines that a matter 

presents unusual complicating circumstances. 7

 Guideline is either five days or 45 days from the date for opposing the motion, depending on the effective date of the order 

requested to be stayed.