Constitutional Opinion No. 2026-0693
Case Information
- Content Scored
- Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB, 561 U.S. 477 (2010) — dual for-cause removal insulation struck down (separation of powers)
- Source
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Author
- Chief Justice Roberts (majority; 5-4)
- Publication Date
- 2010-06-28
- Content Type
- Court Opinion
- Opinion Issued
- 2026-07-19
- AFCS Version
- 1.0
Holding
The Court held "the dual for-cause limitations on the removal of Board members contravene the Constitution's separation of powers." The PCAOB was insulated from Presidential control by two layers of tenure protection (members removable only for cause by the SEC, whose commissioners are removable only for cause by the President), such that the statute "withdraws from the President any decision on whether that good cause exists" — incompatible with Article II's Take Care Clause, because "without the ability to oversee the Board... the President is no longer the judge of the Board's conduct." Remedy: severed the restrictions, leaving Board members removable at will by the SEC. Strongly aligned on three axes: it limits the administrative state by restoring control over an insulated agency (Article XII, 85); rests on the Constitution's separation-of-powers structure as designed (Article XVII, 85); and restores the elected President's accountability over unelected officers (Article II, 80). Cleanly aligned — no countervailing article, unlike Holder. As with McDonald, the majority is the originalist bloc, but the alignment tracks the substance (limited government, structural fidelity, accountability), not the Justices. As a court opinion evaluated for the principle it enacts, the v1.2 Legal/Normative Text Weighting (85/15) applies. Tier 1 = 83; Final 84.5 → 85 (round half up) — America First. No Automatic Fail.
It is the judgment of this Court that Opinion No. 2026-0693 is hereby entered into the record, in accordance with the America First Constitutional Standard. The score stands. The reasoning is published. The record is public.