The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) as Constitutional late last week.
The matter on appeal argued that SOX created unchecked power with the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) and in doing so violated the constitution's separation of powers by investing the PCAOB with governmental authority while insulating it from presidential supervision and control. The appeal also argued that the act subverted the president's power over appointments by having the PCAOB members appointed by majority vote of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Washington’s Post’s article on the opinion.
U.S. Court of Appeals opinion