**On April 14, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided SEC v. Cochran along with FTC v. Axon in one single opinion. We created a separate case page for that combined outcome, which can be accessed here.**

On July 7, 2022, WLF filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to confirm that a constitutional challenge to the structure of a federal agency need not start in the agency. Lower courts continue to apply the Supreme Court’s Thunder Basin precedent to punt these challenges to federal agencies.  The Fifth Circuit, however, broke from ten other courts of appeals and held that district courts have jurisdiction to hear these challenges. As WLF’s brief shows, it is time for the Supreme Court to overturn Thunder Basin. The decision is unworkable, does not fit with recent legal developments, and was poorly reasoned. As there are also no reliance interests, all the stare decisis factors support overruling Thunder Basin.

Documents

WLF amicus brief