Securities and Exchange Commission v. George R. Jarkesy, Jr., et al.

Interest of the Amicus Curiae

Amicus curiae Andrew N. Vollmer is currently a research scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He was Deputy General Counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2006 to 2009 and taught securities regulation as Professor of Law, General Faculty, at the University of Virginia School of Law from 2014 to 2019. For many years, Mr. Vollmer was a partner in the securities enforcement practice of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.[1] 

Mr. Vollmer has studied, taught, wrote, and advised about the operation of the SEC and the federal securities laws for decades. He has an interest in the appropriate construction of those laws and in the restrictions they impose.

Summary of the Argument 

Absent a restriction in a statute, and even over a statutory restriction in certain circumstances, the President has Article II power to remove a principal executive officer at will. Nothing in the federal securities statutes restricts the President’s authority to remove an SEC Commissioner. The President therefore may terminate the service of an SEC Commissioner without cause or a reason. The Court should decide the removal question about SEC administrative law judges in this case on that basis and not on any other assumption or understanding of the law.

Notes

1. The views in this brief are those of the amicus curiae only and not necessarily of any of the institutions mentioned above. No party’s counsel wrote this brief in whole or part. No one other than the Mercatus Center and the amicus curiae contributed money to fund the preparation or submission of this brief.