Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute joined New Civil Liberties Alliance and Americans for Prosperity Foundation in filing an amicus brief in U.S. Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Americans from unconstitutional in-house government agency tribunals.

“These in-house agency tribunals are a unique threat to civil liberties, acting as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and jury. Unsurprisingly, winning every time,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “This case offers the U.S. Supreme Court the opportunity to end the use of agency tribunals and restore the traditional protections afforded to Americans in federal courts.”

In the brief, amici argue that the U.S. Constitution unambiguously vests judicial power in Article III courts, and the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate that power to the executive branch. Amici further argue that courts should abandon the “public rights” exception to Article III jurisdiction, explaining that the federal government exercises power, not rights. Calling on the court to overturn Atlas Roofing v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, pointing out that, under no circumstances, should law-enforcement cases like U.S. Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, in which the government seeks to punish private parties and brand them as lawbreakers, ever be adjudicated outside of an Article III court. 

The Institute for Justice represents Sun Valley Orchards.

# # #