On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a final order of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that violated the Constitution by placing federal enforcement authority in the hands of an administrative law judge (ALJ) who was not properly appointed as an “Officer of the United States” under the Appointments Clause. The decision was a victory for WLF, which filed a brief in the case urging strict adherence to the Constitution’s structural protections, including the Appointments Clause. The Court also held that because the ALJ decided Lucia’s case without a constitutional appointment, he may not now rehear the case as though he had not decided it before. Instead, “[t]o cure the constitutional error, another ALJ (or the Commission itself) must hold a new hearing.”