Tag: due process

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Rep .Scott Garrett Sponsors Bills to Assure Due Process with the SEC and give Main Street businesses new tools to to Access Capital Markets

scott garrett

Happy 75th anniversary to M&M’s! I’m proud to represent such an iconic American candy that is made right in Hackettstown! Such a source of New Jersey pride.

Financial Services Committee Passes Two Garrett-Sponsored Bills  

Bills would enforce Constitutional rights and give Main Street businesses new tools to succeed
Mar 2, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Today the Financial Services Committee passed two bills introduced by Congressman Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises. The bills were H.R. 4638, The Main Street Growth Act, and H.R. 3798, The Due Process Restoration Act.

“One of the biggest concerns I hear from my constituents that the executive branch has run wild and Congress needs to regain control to protect the Constitutional rights of all Americans. For that reason, I’m pleased that today the Financial Services Committee passed my bill to restore the due process rights of all Americans by allowing them to have their case before the SEC heard by a federal court. I’m also happy to announce that my bill to allow Main Street businesses to raise capital by accessing public markets passed the committee. Because if we want to revive America’s economy, we need to give Main Street businesses the tools they needs to innovate and succeed.”

H.R. 3798, The Due Process Restoration Act Would:

Provide a mandatory right of removal allowing the defendant to request that the case be moved to a district court
Grant a right of removal to defendants who are subject to a cease and desist order and monetary penalty that the commission is seeking
Raise the burden of proof for cases that remain in the ALJ to a higher “clear and convincing evidence” standard

The Main Street Growth Act Would:

Authorize the creation of “venture exchanges” which would be registered as a national securities exchange with the SEC and be specifically tailored to list the shares of emerging growth companies and companies that issue shares under the newly finalized “Reg A+”
Exempt venture exchanges from Regulation NMS, Regulation ATS, and would be exempt from extending unlisted trading privileges to companies that list on them;
Subject venture exchanges to all of the existing anti-fraud and investor protection statutes administered by the SEC
Permit all investors— not just Silicon Valley billionaires or the well-connected—to invest in companies that list on venture exchanges.

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Garrett Hits Back at SEC Official’s Defense of Commission’s Overuse of In-House Tribunals and callously disregard due process

Scott Garrett

Feb 2, 2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ,  Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement after a senior SEC enforcement official last week defended the Commission’s increased use of in-house administrative law judges.

“It’s extremely distressing to see a senior SEC enforcement official so callously disregard the Constitutional and due process concerns that have been raised over the SEC’s in-house tribunals.  The Commission is missing the point that this isn’t about how many cases are won or lost – it’s about protecting every American’s due process rights and their ability to have a fair trial.  The SEC has become more concerned about making headlines than executing an effective enforcement program, and these comments are reflective of that approach.”

Garrett continues to put pressure on the SEC unlike Garrett’s Democratic challenger Josh Gottheimer who is a big proponent of Dodd – Frank and the institutionalization of the “too big to fail ” policies for all financial institutions . Gottheimer would have the government continue to bail out poorly run banks and Wall Street firms .

Garrett is the author of the Due Process Restoration Act that would  rein-in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial overuse of in-house administrative law judges and ensure that all Americans are given due process by allowing defendants the option of having their case heard before a federal court.

In the wake of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which granted the SEC expanded administrative enforcement powers, the SEC started trying an increasing number of alleged wrongdoers before its in-house administrative panels rather than in the federal courts established by Article III of the Constitution.

The SEC has heard repeated criticism of these in-house panels from defendants who feel they weren’t given due process, former SEC judges who felt pressure to rule in favor of the Commission, and U.S. District Judges who find the panels unconstitutional.

The Commission announced that it will be giving more legal safeguards to defendants that come before its in-house administrative panels. Unfortunately, the SEC’s proposed changes fall well short of addressing many of these concerns and its enforcement practices continue to violate the separation of powers guaranteed by the Constitution.

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Reps. Garrett and Cárdenas Introduce Bipartisan FAIR Act to Protect Americans from Unconstitutional Civil Asset Forfeitures

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Reps. Garrett and Cárdenas Introduce Bipartisan FAIR Act to Protect Americans from Unconstitutional Civil Asset Forfeitures

Sep 17, 2014 

Bill is House Companion to Sen. Rand Paul’s Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Congressional Constitution Caucus, and Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Crime Prevention and Youth Development Caucus, today introduced H.R. 5502, the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, to protect Americans from having their property seized without the due process of law.  The FAIR Act makes a number of changes to civil asset forfeiture laws to restore the constitutional protections guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.

“Most Americans assume that the government cannot take your things without due process, but it is happening,” said Garrett.  “Under current law, federal, state and local police can seize your property unless you can prove you acquired it legally. This must change.  The FAIR Act will protect our constitutional rights and save American families from a costly and messy legal process to regain what is legally theirs.”

“Two principles that we as Americans hold dear are innocent until proven guilty; and that the government may not seize our property without just cause,” said Cárdenas.  “Satisfying a profit motive must never be the reason for law enforcement, and it certainly must never be allowed to support the seizure of personal property by those who we trust to protect and defend our nation and our Constitution.”

The FAIR Act would ensure that Americans are innocent until proven guilty by requiring the government to meet a higher legal standard before seizing an individual’s property.  This legislation would raise the standard to seize assets from a preponderance of evidence to a higher standard of clear and convincing evidence.  In addition, the FAIR Act would eliminate the practice of equitable sharing and eliminate all profit incentives by requiring that all funds seized by the federal government go into the general treasury fund.

Click here for a one-page explanation of the bill, and click here for a section-by-section summary.

To read the Washington Post’s three-part series on civil asset forfeitures, click here.

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