Jones v. Securities & Exchange Commission 298 U.S. 1 (1936)
JONES v. SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION 298 U.S. 1 (1936)
Although unimportant as a matter of constitutional law, Jones has significance in constitutional history. The Court's decision and the tone of Justice george sutherland's opinion for the majority helped convince President franklin d. roosevelt that the Court was prejudiced against the new deal. A Wall Street manipulator had withdrawn a securities offering on learning that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating his fraud. The commission had continued its investigation, raising the question whether it had exceeded its statuory authority. Sutherland called its action arbitrary, inquisitional, odious, and comparable to Star Chamber procedure. Justices benjamin n. cardozo, louis d. brandeis, and harlan fiske stone answered Sutherland's charges and defended the commission. The opinion of the Court hardened Roosevelt's attitude toward it, culminating in his court-packing plan of 1937.
Leonard W. Levy
(1986)