Fox News is reporting that the Supreme Court is hearing a case that is challenging the constitutionality of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The results of this case could be very widespread as the prime complaint against the law (brought by the Free Enterprise Fund) is that:

At issue is whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, which supervises compliance with the law, violates the Constitution’s separation of powers. Under the Appointments Clause, all “officers” of the United States must be appointed by the President and accountable to him—a condition PCAOB members do not meet. (The rest of the article can be found here)

If the Supreme Court rules the Act unconsitutional, other independent agencies, nominally part of the Executive branch, such as the SEC itself, could be in danger of challenges to their constitutionality as well. ¹

Footnotes

¹ “All Things Considered”, NPR, 2009-12-07

This article was edited after publication by the author on 09 Dec 2009. View changes.