Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/22-859new_kjfm.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2023 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. 
JARKESY ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE FIFTH CIRCUIT 

No. 22–859.  Argued November 29, 2023—Decided June 27, 2024 

In  the  aftermath  of  the  Wall  Street  Crash  of  1929,  Congress  passed  a 
suite of laws designed to combat securities fraud and increase market 
transparency.  Three such statutes are relevant: The Securities Act of 
1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advis-
ers Act of 1940.  These Acts respectively govern the registration of se-
curities, the trading of securities, and the activities of investment ad-
visers.    Although  each  regulates  different  aspects  of  the  securities 
markets, their pertinent provisions—collectively referred to by regula-
tors  as  “the  antifraud  provisions,”  App.  to  Pet.  for  Cert.  73a,  202a—
target the same basic behavior: misrepresenting or concealing mate-
rial facts. 
  To enforce these Acts, Congress created the Securities and Exchange 
Commission.  The SEC may bring an enforcement action in one of two 
forums.  It can file suit in federal court, or it can adjudicate the matter 
itself.  The forum the SEC selects dictates certain aspects of the litiga-
tion.  In federal court, a jury finds the facts, an Article III judge pre-
sides, and the Federal Rules of Evidence and the ordinary rules of dis-
covery govern the litigation.  But when the SEC adjudicates the matter 
in-house, there are no juries.  The Commission presides while its Divi-
sion of Enforcement prosecutes the case.  The Commission or its dele-
gee—typically an Administrative Law Judge—also finds facts and de-
cides discovery disputes, and the SEC’s Rules of Practice govern. 
  One  remedy  for  securities  violations  is  civil  penalties.    Originally, 
the SEC could only obtain civil penalties from unregistered investment 
advisers in federal court.  Then, in 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The Act au-
thorized the SEC to impose such penalties through its own in-house