After requesting comment on potential changes in September 2015, the SEC adopted amendments to its rules of practice governing its administrative proceedings. Chair Mary Jo White said the changes provide additional opportunities to conduct depositions while also adding flexibility to the timelines for the proceedings, which have been the target of criticism and constitutional court challenges. The adopted final amendments:
- Extend the potential length of the prehearing period from the current four months to a maximum of 10 months for the cases designated for the longest timelines;
- Allow parties in the cases designated for the longest timelines the right to notice three depositions per side in single-respondent cases and five depositions per side in multi-respondent cases, and to request an additional two depositions;
- Clarify the types of dispositive motions that may be filed at various stages of proceedings and the applicable procedures and legal standards for the motions; and
- Make additional clarifying and conforming changes to other rules, including rules regarding the admissibility of certain types of evidence, expert disclosures and reports, the requirements for the contents of an answer, and procedures for appeals.
The SEC has increasingly prosecuted cases in front of
administrative judges rather than federal court in recent years,
partly due to enhanced powers included in Dodd-Frank.
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