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AXON ENTERPRISE, INC. v. FTC 

THOMAS, J., concurring 

be  conclusive”  “if  supported  by  substantial  evidence.”  48 
Stat. 902 (codified, as amended, at 15 U. S. C. §78y). 

In  the  1930s,  this  Court  upheld  the  constitutionality  of 
the appellate review model against arguments that it vio-
lated  the  separation  of  powers  and  Seventh  Amendment.
First, in Crowell v. Benson, 285 U. S. 22 (1932), the Court 
examined the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Com-
pensation Act, which authorized administrative agencies to
adjudicate  workers’  compensation  claims  against  private 
parties.  The Court acknowledged that the case was “one of
private  right,”  id.,  at  51,  but  held  that  Congress  had  the
authority to place primary factfinding authority in an ad-
ministrative  agency,  id.,  at  54.  It  reasoned  that  such  a 
scheme  did  not  violate  Article  III  because  “Congress  has
considerable power to structure [judicial] proceedings and 
to  regulate  the  mechanisms  that  courts  use  to  ascertain
facts.”  Nelson 600.
  Next, in NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U. S. 
1 (1937), the Court examined the National Labor Relations
Act’s judicial review provisions, which required an Article
III court to accept the National Labor Relations Board’s fac-
tual findings so long as they were “supported by evidence” 
in the administrative record.  49 Stat. 454.  The Court held 
that this arrangement did not violate the Seventh Amend-
ment, which provides that “[i]n Suits at common law, where 
the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the 
right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved.”  The  Court  rea-
soned that, “because claims seeking statutory remedies for 
violations of the Act were ‘statutory proceedings’ that were 
‘unknown to the common law,’ they were not ‘suits at com-
mon law’ within the meaning of the Seventh Amendment.” 
Nelson 602 (quoting Jones & Laughlin, 301 U. S., at 48; al-
terations  omitted).  These  cases  solidified  administrative 
agencies’ authority “to act as factfinding adjuncts to the fed-