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120-433: Since its creation as an antelope reserve, management of the refuge has broadened to include conservation of all wildlife species characteristic of this high desert habitat and restoration of native ecosystems for the public's enjoyment, education, and appreciation. The area's protected status has been remarked upon by former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas : I always feel sad leaving Hart Mountain. Yet after I travel

240-521: A Ponzi scheme because she was the firm's compliance attorney. The investigation was closed, and Swanson subsequently left the SEC, and married Shana Madoff. Approximately 45 percent of institutional investors thought that better oversight by the SEC could have prevented the Madoff fraud. Harry Markopolos complained to the SEC's Boston office in 2000, telling the SEC staff they should investigate Madoff because it

360-566: A Sterling Professor at Yale. In 1934, Douglas left Yale after President Franklin Roosevelt nominated him to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). By 1937, he had become an adviser and friend to the President and the chairman. He also became friends with a group of young New Dealers, including Tommy "The Cork" Corcoran and Abe Fortas . He was also close, both socially and in thinking to

480-461: A civil action in a U.S. District Court , or an administrative proceeding which is heard by an independent administrative law judge (ALJ). The SEC does not have criminal authority but may refer matters to state and federal prosecutors. The Economic and Risk Analysis Division (DERA) was created in September 2009 to integrate financial economics and rigorous data analytics into the core mission of

600-501: A "pending" status on 197 of the 312 recommendations made in audit reports. Some of the recommendations included imposing disciplinary action on SEC employees who receive improper gifts or other favors from financial companies, and investigating and reporting the causes of the failures to detect the Madoff ponzi scheme. In a 2011 article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone , former SEC employees were interviewed and commented negatively on

720-609: A Mountain," was made about that recovery. William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 to 1975. Douglas was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views and is often cited as the U.S. Supreme Court 's most liberal justice ever. Nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, Douglas

840-560: A clear-cut set of deadlines, rules and guidelines. The SEC succeeded; Kennedy reassured the American business community that they would no longer be deceived and tricked and taken advantage of by Wall Street. He became a cheerleader for ordinary investors to return to the market and enable the economy to grow again. Later SEC commissioners and chairmen include William O. Douglas , Jerome Frank , and William J. Casey . Since 1994, most registration statements (and associated materials) filed with

960-584: A conversation with Douglas during a party at Martin Agronsky 's house. After Diem's assassination in November 1963, Douglas became strongly critical of the war, believing Diem had been killed because he "was not sufficiently servile to Pentagon demands." Douglas now outspokenly argued the war was illegal, dissenting whenever the Court passed on an opportunity to hear such claims. In 1968 Douglas issued an order blocking

1080-602: A federal rule that allowed environmental issues to be litigated before federal agencies or federal courts in the name of the inanimate object about to be despoiled, defaced, or invaded by roads and bulldozers and where injury is the subject of public outrage. Contemporary public concern for protecting nature's ecological equilibrium should lead to the conferral of standing upon environmental objects to sue for their own preservation. This suit would therefore be more properly labeled as Mineral King v. Morton . He continued: Inanimate objects are sometimes parties in litigation. A ship has

1200-495: A few hours and turn to see its great bulk against a southern sky my heart rejoices. This refuge will leave our grandsons and granddaughters an inheritance of the wilderness that no dollars could recreate. Here they will find life teeming throughout all the life zones that lead from the desert to alpine meadows. None of the refuge's roads are paved, and most are not passable by passenger autos. A few roads are graded, but most are dirt ruts ("jeep trails"). No services are available within

1320-470: A force in other developments in the law. Douglas was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa , participated on the debate team, and was elected as student body president in his final year. After graduating in 1920 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and economics, he taught English and Latin at his old high school for the next two years, hoping to earn enough to attend law school. "Finally," he said, "I decided it

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1440-569: A hearing the next day. On Friday, August 3, 1973, Douglas held a hearing in the Yakima federal courthouse , where he dismissed the Government's argument that he was causing a "constitutional confrontation" by saying, "we live in a world of confrontations. That's what the whole system is about." On August 4, Douglas ordered the military to stop bombing, reasoning "denial of the application before me would catapult our airmen as well as Cambodian peasants into

1560-647: A hike to save Sunfish Pond on the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey , Douglas was accompanied by more than a thousand people. He said: "It's a vital element in the need to save some of our wilderness from the encroachment of civilization." From 1950 to 1961, Douglas travelled extensively in the Middle East and Asia. Douglas wrote many books about his experiences and observations during these trips. Other than writers from National Geographic —whom he sometimes met on

1680-472: A judge's role was "not neutral" as "The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of the people." Douglas has been widely characterized as a civil libertarian . On the bench, Douglas became known as a strong advocate of First Amendment rights. With fellow justice Hugo Black , Douglas argued for a "literalist" interpretation of the First Amendment , insisting that

1800-467: A kind of electoral college formerly used to choose the governor. According to political scientists Andrew D. Martin and Kevin M. Quinn, he was by far the most liberal justice in the history of the Supreme Court with a Martin-Quinn score of -8 at his most liberal. He voted to strike down the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia , argued that the environment should be granted legal personhood , tried to declare

1920-427: A legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole —a creature of ecclesiastical law—is an acceptable adversary and large fortunes ride on its cases ... So it should be as respects valleys, alpine meadows, rivers, lakes, estuaries, beaches, ridges, groves of trees, swampland, or even air that feels the destructive pressures of modern technology and modern life. The river, for example,

2040-519: A measure to reduce volatility in turbulent markets. The SEC investigated cases involving individuals attempting to manipulate the market by passing false rumors about certain financial institutions. The commission has also investigated trading irregularities and abusive short-selling practices. Hedge fund managers, broker-dealers, and institutional investors were also asked to disclose under oath certain information pertaining to their positions in credit default swaps . The commission also negotiated

2160-487: A meeting at the SEC in which top staff discussed refusing to admit the destruction had taken place, because it was possibly illegal . Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley , among others, took note of Flynn's call for protection as a whistleblower, and the story of the agency's document-handling procedures. The SEC issued a statement defending its procedures. NPR quoted University of Denver Sturm College of Law professor Jay Brown as saying: "My initial take on this

2280-516: A representative. In 1939, Justice Louis D. Brandeis retired from the Court, and Roosevelt nominated Douglas as his replacement on March 20. Douglas was Brandeis's personal choice as a successor. Douglas later revealed that his appointment had been a great surprise to him (Roosevelt had summoned him to an "important meeting"), and Douglas feared that he would be named as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission . He

2400-453: A result, Cox said that an investigation would ensue into "all staff contact and relationships with the Madoff family and firm, and their impact, if any, on decisions by staff regarding the firm". SEC Assistant Director of the Office of Compliance Investigations Eric Swanson had met Madoff's niece, Shana Madoff , when Swanson was conducting an SEC examination of whether Bernard Madoff was running

2520-537: A self-made multimillionaire, financier, and leader among the Irish-American community, as chairman of the SEC. Roosevelt chose Kennedy partly based on his experience on Wall Street. Two of the other five commissioners were James M. Landis and Ferdinand Pecora . Kennedy added a number of intelligent young lawyers to the SEC staff, including William O. Douglas and Abe Fortas , both of whom later became Supreme Court Justices. Kennedy's team defined four missions for

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2640-587: A vote he later regretted, but, over the course of his career, he grew to become a leading advocate of individual rights. He was suspicious of majority rule as it related to social and moral questions, and frequently expressed concern about forced conformity with " the Establishment ". For example, Douglas wrote the decision in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) in stating that a constitutional right to privacy forbids state contraception bans because "specific guarantees in

2760-452: A waiter and janitor during the school year, and at a cherry orchard in the summer. Picking cherries, Douglas would say later, inspired him to pursue a legal career. He once said of his early interest in the law: I worked among the very, very poor, the migrant laborers , the Chicanos and the I.W.W's who I saw being shot at by the police. I saw cruelty and hardness, and my impulse was to be

2880-480: A war hero, for the nomination. A "Draft Douglas" campaign, complete with souvenir buttons and hats, sprang up in New Hampshire and several other primary states. Douglas campaigned for the nomination for a short time, but he soon withdrew his name from consideration. In the end, Eisenhower refused to be drafted, and Truman won nomination easily. Although Truman approached Douglas about the vice presidential nomination,

3000-410: Is "always attended with a serious evil, namely, that the correction of legislative mistakes comes from the outside, and the people thus lose the political experience, and the moral education and stimulus that come from fighting the question out in the ordinary way, and correcting their own errors"; that the effect of a participation by the judiciary in these processes is "to dwarf the political capacity of

3120-772: Is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The SEC's divisions are: Corporation Finance is the division that oversees the disclosure made by public companies , as well as the registration of transactions, such as mergers, made by companies. The division is also responsible for operating EDGAR. The Trading and Markets division oversees self-regulatory organizations (SRO's) such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and all broker-dealer firms and investment houses . This division also interprets proposed changes to regulations and monitors operations of

3240-561: Is no necessary contradiction between these two views." On June 17, 1953, Douglas granted a temporary stay of execution to Ethel and Julius Rosenberg , who had been convicted of selling the plans for the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during the Cold War . The basis for the stay was that Judge Irving Kaufman had sentenced the Rosenbergs to death without the consent of the jury. While this

3360-482: Is slipshod and slapdash," but Douglas's "intelligence, his energy, his academic and government experience, his flair for writing, the leadership skills that he had displayed at the SEC, and his ability to charm when he bothered to try" could have let him "become the greatest justice in history." Brennan once stated that Douglas was one of only "two geniuses" he had met in his life (the other being Posner). In general, legal scholars have noted that Douglas's judicial style

3480-491: Is the living symbol of all the life it sustains or nourishes—fish, aquatic insects, water ouzels, otter, fisher, deer, elk, bear, and all other animals, including man, who are dependent on it or who enjoy it for its sight, its sound, or its life. The river as plaintiff speaks for the ecological unit of life that is part of it. Douglas was a lifelong mountaineer . In his autobiographical Of Men and Mountains (1950), Douglas discusses his close childhood connections with nature. In

3600-499: The Bill of Rights have penumbras , formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance." That went too far for Hugo Black, who dissented in Griswold despite having been allies with Douglas. Justice Clarence Thomas would years later hang a sign in his chambers reading, "Please don't emanate in the penumbras." Conservative Judge Robert Bork had no objection to

3720-566: The Great Recession that the SEC was supposed to have been regulating. The documents included those relating to " Matters Under Inquiry ", or MUI, the name the SEC gives to the first stages of the investigation process. The tradition of destruction began as early as the 1990s. This SEC activity eventually caused a conflict with the National Archives and Records Administration when it was revealed to them in 2010 by Flynn. Flynn also described

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3840-674: The New York Stock Exchange , self-regulatory organizations , the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board , NASDAQ , alternative trading systems , and any other persons engaged in transactions for the accounts of others. Section 4 of the 1934 Act transferred the FTC's enforcement authority under the 1933 Act to the newly created Securities and Exchange Commission and tasked the new Commission with enforcing both Acts. In 1934, Roosevelt named his friend Joseph P. Kennedy ,

3960-663: The Rosenberg case , introduced a resolution to impeach him. The resolution was referred the next day to the Judiciary Committee to investigate the charges. On July 7, 1953, the committee voted to end the investigation. Douglas maintained a busy speaking and publishing schedule to supplement his income. He became severely burdened financially because of a bitter divorce and settlement with his first wife. He sustained additional financial setbacks after divorces and settlements with his second and third wives. Douglas became president of

4080-533: The SEC, was at the time representing Morgan Stanley and was involved in this case. While the insider case was dropped at the time, a month prior to the SEC's settlement with Aguirre the SEC filed charges against Pequot. The Senate released a report in August 2007 detailing the issue and calling for reform of the SEC. On September 26, 2016, Democratic senator Mark Warner sent a letter to the SEC, asking them to evaluate whether

4200-456: The Securities Act of 1933 ( 15 U.S.C.   § 77a ), which federally regulates original issues of securities across state lines, primarily by requiring that issuing companies register distributions prior to sale so that investors may access basic financial information and make informed decisions. For the first year of the law's enactment, the enforcement of the statute rested with

4320-900: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (now codified as 15 U.S.C.   § 78d and commonly referred to as the Exchange Act or the 1934 Act), SEC enforces the Securities Act of 1933 , the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 , the Investment Company Act of 1940 , the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 , the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 , among other statutes. The SEC has a three-part mission: to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. To achieve its mandate,

4440-586: The University of Chicago Law School called Douglas's Griswold opinion "one of the most hypocritical opinions in the history of the Court." Douglas and Black also disagreed in Fortson v. Morris (1967), which cleared the path for the Georgia State Legislature to choose the governor in the deadlocked 1966 race between Democrat Lester Maddox and Republican Howard Callaway . Whereas Black voted with

4560-578: The Vietnam War unconstitutional because Congress had never declared war, and generally showed an uncompromising defense of individual rights from which even stalwart liberals Brennan and Marshall shied away. Douglas was notable as a public pre- Stonewall supporter of gay rights. Douglas dissented in Boutilier v. INS in which the Court ruled that gays and lesbians were included in the list of “psychopathic personalities” that Congress could deport, arguing that

4680-481: The Yale Law School faculty. After serving as the third chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission , Douglas was successfully nominated to the Supreme Court in 1939, succeeding Justice Louis Brandeis . He was among those seriously considered for the 1944 Democratic vice presidential nomination and was subject to an unsuccessful draft movement prior to the 1948 U.S. presidential election . Douglas served on

4800-689: The 1950s, proposals were made to create a highway along the path of the C&;O Canal, which ran on the Maryland bank parallel to the Potomac River. The Washington Post editorial page supported the action. However, Douglas, who frequently hiked on the Canal towpath, opposed the plan and challenged reporters to hike the 185-mile length of the Canal with him. After the hike, the Post changed its stance and advocated preservation of

4920-508: The Canal in its historic state. Douglas is widely credited with saving the Canal and with its eventual designation as a National Historic Park in 1971. He served on the board of directors of the Sierra Club from 1960 to 1962 and wrote prolifically on his love of the outdoors. In 1962, Douglas wrote a glowing review of Rachel Carson 's book Silent Spring , which was included in the widely-read Book-of-the-Month Club edition. He later swayed

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5040-513: The Commission and other Divisions/Offices and developing customized, analytic tools and analyzes to proactively detect market risks indicative of possible violations of the Federal securities laws. Using data, DERA staff create analytic programs designed to detect patterns identifying risks, enabling Commission divisions and offices to deploy scarce resources targeting possible misconduct. DERA also houses

5160-453: The Commission that the SEC undertake enforcement action against a person or company if that entity engages in a particular action. These letters are sent in response to requests made when the legal status of an activity is not clear. These letters are publicly released and increase the body of knowledge on what exactly is and is not allowed. They represent the staff's interpretations of the securities laws and, while persuasive, are not binding on

5280-707: The Court until his retirement in 1975 and was succeeded by John Paul Stevens . Douglas holds a number of records as a Supreme Court justice, including the most opinions . Douglas's notable opinions included Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)—which established the constitutional right to privacy , and was foundational to later cases such as Eisenstadt v. Baird , Roe v. Wade , Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges — Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942), United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948), Terminiello v. City of Chicago (1949), Brady v. Maryland (1963), and Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966). Douglas also served as an associate justice in

5400-577: The Court went nowhere. Douglas took strong positions on the Vietnam War. In 1952, Douglas traveled to Vietnam and met with Ho Chi Minh . During the trip Douglas became friendly with Ngo Dinh Diem and in 1953 he personally introduced the nationalist leader to senators Mike Mansfield and John F. Kennedy . Douglas became one of the chief promoters for U.S. support of Diem, with CIA deputy director Robert Amory crediting Diem becoming "our man in Indochina" to

5520-469: The Federal Trade Commission. The subsequent Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C.   § 78d ) regulates secondary markets for securities. The 1934 Act regulates secondary trading between individuals and companies which are often unrelated to the original issuers of securities. Entities under the SEC's authority include securities exchanges with physical trading floors such as

5640-556: The First Amendment's command that "no law" shall restrict freedom of speech should be interpreted literally. He wrote the opinion in Terminiello v. City of Chicago (1949), overturning the conviction of a Catholic priest who allegedly caused a "breach of the peace" by making anti-Semitic comments during a raucous public speech. Douglas, joined by Black, furthered his advocacy of a broad reading of First Amendment rights by dissenting from

5760-636: The Investment Bankers Association told its members that they could circumvent blue sky laws by making securities offerings across state lines through the mail. The SEC's authority was established by the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934; both laws are considered parts of Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal program. After the Pecora Commission hearings on abuses and frauds in securities markets, Congress passed

5880-502: The Investment Company Act of 1940 and Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This division's responsibilities include: The Enforcement Division investigates violations of the securities laws and regulations to bring legal actions against alleged violators. It is the largest division in terms of both headcount and budget, and its resources have been increased by more than 50% since the 2007–2008 financial crisis . The SEC can bring

6000-444: The Madoff investigation, among others, because Kotz was a "very good friend" with Markopolos. It concluded that while it was unclear when Kotz and Markopolos became friends, it would have violated U.S. ethics rules if their relationship began before or during Kotz's Madoff investigation. The report also found that Kotz himself "appeared to have a conflict of interest" and should not have opened his Standford investigation, because he

6120-549: The Parvin Foundation. His ties to the foundation (which was financed by the sale of the infamous Flamingo Hotel by casino financier and foundation benefactor Albert Parvin) became a prime target for House Minority Leader Gerald Ford . Besides being personally disgusted by Douglas's lifestyle, Ford was also mindful that Douglas's protégé Abe Fortas was forced to resign because of ties to a similar foundation. Fortas would later say that he "resigned to save Douglas," thinking that

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6240-426: The President of the United States. No more than three Commissioners may belong to the same political party. Their terms last five years and are staggered so that one commissioner's term ends on June 5 of each year. Service may continue up to eighteen additional months past term expiration. The president also designates one of the commissioners as chairman, the SEC's top executive. However, the president does not possess

6360-565: The Progressives of the era, such as Philip and Robert La Follette Jr. That social/political group befriended Lyndon Johnson , a freshman representative from the 10th District of Texas. In his 1982 book The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power , Robert Caro wrote that in 1937, Douglas had helped to persuade Roosevelt to authorize the Marshall Ford Dam , a controversial project whose approval enabled Johnson to consolidate his power as

6480-516: The SEC can be accessed via the SEC's online system, EDGAR. In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society introduced an online gallery to illustrate changes in the US securities market structure since the 1930s. The online gallery features a narrative history supported by dozens of documents, papers, interviews, photos and videos. The commission has five commissioners who are appointed by

6600-460: The SEC enforces the statutory requirement that public companies and other regulated entities submit quarterly and annual reports , as well as other periodic disclosures. In addition to annual financial reports , company executives must provide a narrative account, called the " management discussion and analysis " (MD&A), that outlines the previous year of operations and explains how the company fared in that time period. MD&A usually addresses

6720-476: The SEC to inform rule-making initiatives, identify and monitor risks, improve industry practices and pursue misconduct. There are 11 regional offices throughout the US, which are listed below along with the name of the respective regional director. Among the SEC's offices are: Comment letters are issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance in response to a company's public filing. This letter, initially private, contains an itemized list of requests from

6840-753: The SEC's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Going to the OIG was "well-known to be a career-killer". Because of concerns raised by David P. Weber , former SEC Chief Investigator, regarding conduct by SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz , Inspector General David C. Williams of the U.S. Postal Service was brought in to conduct an independent, outside review of Kotz's alleged improper conduct in 2012. Williams concluded in his 66-page Report that Kotz violated ethics rules by overseeing probes that involved people with whom he had conflicts of interest due to "personal relationships". The report questioned Kotz's work on

6960-522: The SEC, but only 21 letters for these companies were posted on the SEC's website. John W. White, the head of the Division of Corporation Finance, told the New York Times in 2006: "We have now resolved the hurdles of posting the information... We expect a significant number of new postings in the coming months." No-action letters are letters by the SEC staff indicating that the staff will not recommend to

7080-507: The SEC. Each comment in the letter asks the filer to provide additional information, modify their submitted filing, or change the way they disclose in future filings. The filer must reply to each item in the comment letter. The SEC may then reply back with follow-up comments. This correspondence is later made public. In October 2001 the SEC wrote to CA, Inc. , covering 15 items, mostly about CA's accounting, including 5 about revenue recognition . The chief executive officer of CA, to whom

7200-408: The SEC. The Division is involved across the entire range of SEC activities, including policy-making, rule-making, enforcement, and examination. As the agency's "think tank", DERA relies on a variety of academic disciplines, quantitative and non-quantitative approaches, and knowledge of market institutions and practices to help the Commission approach complex matters in a fresh light. DERA also assists in

7320-616: The Supreme Court to preserve the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky, when a proposal to build a dam and flood the gorge reached the Court. Douglas personally visited the area on November 18, 1967. The Red River Gorge's Douglas Trail is named in his honor. In May 1962, Douglas and his wife, Cathleen, were invited by Neil Compton and the Ozark Society to visit and canoe down part of the free flowing Buffalo River in Arkansas. They put in at

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7440-568: The Supreme Court's decision in Dennis v. United States (1952), which affirmed the conviction of the leader of the U.S. Communist Party . Douglas was publicly critical of censorship, saying "The way to combat noxious ideas is with other ideas. The way to combat falsehoods is with truth." In 1944, Douglas voted with the majority to uphold the wartime internment of Japanese Americans in Korematsu v. United States after having initially planned to dissent,

7560-479: The Supreme Court) and had switched the names to suggest that Truman was Roosevelt's real choice. By 1948, Douglas's presidential aspirations were rekindled by Truman's low popularity, after he had succeeded Roosevelt in 1945. Many Democrats, believing that Truman could not be elected in November, began trying to find a replacement candidate. Attempts were made to draft popular retired General Dwight D. Eisenhower ,

7680-626: The University of Wyoming curates a lichen collected by William O. Douglas in Snoqualmie National Forest. Douglas's active role in advocating the preservation and protection of wilderness across the United States earned him the nickname "Wild Bill". Douglas was a friend and frequent guest of Harry R. Truman , the owner of the Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake in Washington. In 1967, on

7800-425: The agency, such as reports. The same online system also accepts tips and complaints from investors to help the SEC track down violators of the securities laws, as well as offering publications on investment-related topics for public education. The SEC maintains a strict policy of refraining from commenting on the existence or status of any ongoing investigation. Prior to the enactment of the federal securities laws and

7920-400: The commission's Chief Economist. The Division of Examinations conducts the SEC's National Exam Program. The Division's mission is to protect investors, ensure market integrity and support responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies that: (1) improve compliance; (2) prevent fraud; (3) monitor risk; and (4) inform policy. The results of the Division's examinations are used by

8040-538: The commission's efforts to identify, analyze, and respond to risks and trends, including those associated with new financial products and strategies. Through the range and nature of its activities, DERA serves the critical function of promoting collaborative efforts throughout the agency and breaking through silos that might otherwise limit the impact of the agency's institutional expertise. The Division's activities include providing detailed, high-quality economic and statistical analyzes, and specific subject-matter expertise to

8160-461: The concept of penumbras, writing, "There is nothing exceptional about [Douglas's] thought, other than the language of penumbras and emanations. Courts often give protection to a constitutional freedom by creating a buffer zone, by prohibiting a government from doing something not in itself forbidden but likely to lead to an invasion of a right specified in the Constitution." Prof. David P. Currie of

8280-495: The court should stay out of politics. Douglas did not highly value judicial consistency or stare decisis when deciding cases. "But the origin of Douglas and Frankfurter's deep-seated animosity went beyond important jurisprudential differences. Temperamentally, they were opposites. From the beginning of their close associations as justices, the two men simply grated on each other's nerves. . . . Although in 1974 Douglas claimed that there had been no 'war' between him and Frankfurter,

8400-456: The courts. One such use, from 1975 to 2007, was with the nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), a credit rating agency that issues credit ratings that the SEC permits other financial firms to use for certain regulatory purposes. In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data,

8520-519: The creation of the SEC, securities trading was governed by so-called blue sky laws . These laws were enacted and enforced at the state level and regulated the offering and sale of securities to protect the public from fraud. Though the specific provisions of these laws varied among states, they all required the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of every U.S. stockbroker and brokerage firm. However, blue sky laws were generally considered ineffective. For example, as early as 1915,

8640-541: The current disclosure regime was adequate, citing the low number of companies' disclosures to date. In 2009, the Project on Government Oversight , a government watchdog group, sent a letter to Congress criticizing the SEC for failing to implement more than half of the recommendations made to it by its Inspector General . According to POGO, in the prior two years, the SEC had taken no action on 27 out of 52 recommended reforms suggested in Inspector General reports, and still had

8760-548: The death zone." The U.S. military ignored Douglas's order. Six hours later the eight other justices reconvened by telephone for a special term and unanimously overturned Douglas's ruling. Douglas was highly innovative in legal theory. For example, in his dissenting opinion in the landmark environmental law case Sierra Club v. Morton , 405 U.S. 727 (1972), Douglas argued that "inanimate objects" should have standing to sue in court: The critical question of "standing" would be simplified and also put neatly in focus if we fashioned

8880-475: The dual investigations of himself and Douglas would stop with his resignation. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) is an independent agency of the United States federal government , created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 . Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market manipulation . Created by Section 4 of

9000-418: The evidence to the contrary was overwhelming. Frankfurter and Douglas, two important American jurists whose decades-long bitter debates (indeed, whose 'wars') contributed a great deal to our understanding of constitutionalism in a modern society, could not tolerate each other. Intentionally and unintentionally, they went out of their way to harass each other for over two decades." Judge Richard A. Posner , who

9120-587: The first draft. Douglas was also known for his fearsome work ethic, by publishing over thirty books and once telling an exhausted secretary, Fay Aull, "If you hadn't stopped working, you wouldn't be tired." Douglas frequently disagreed with the other justices, dissenting in almost 40% of cases, more than half of the time writing only for himself. Ronald Dworkin would conclude that because Douglas believed his convictions were merely "a matter of his own emotional biases," Douglas would fail to meet "minimal intellectual responsibilities." Ultimately, Douglas believed that

9240-547: The former SEC chairman, has recognized the organization's multiple failures in relation to the Bernard Madoff fraud. Starting with an investigation in 1992 into a Madoff feeder fund that only invested with Madoff, and which, according to the SEC, promised "curiously steady" returns, the SEC did not investigate indications that something was amiss in Madoff's investment firm. The SEC has been accused of missing numerous red flags and ignoring tips on Madoff's alleged fraud. As

9360-711: The herbarium of the University of Texas at Austin. They curate at least 14 vascular plant specimens collected by Douglas together with botanist Donovan Stewart Correll, Head of the Botanical Laboratory, Texas Research Foundation in February and June 1965. The specimens collected in February were from Presidio and Brewster Counties—several from Capote Falls. The specimens collected in June were from Blanco, Gillespie, and Llano Counties—near Austin, Texas. The Rocky Mountain Herbarium at

9480-649: The industry. In practice, the SEC delegates most of its enforcement and rulemaking authority to FINRA. In fact, all trading firms not regulated by other SROs must register as a member of FINRA. Individuals trading securities must pass exams administered by FINRA to become registered representatives . The Investment Management Division oversees registered investment companies, which include mutual funds , as well as registered investment advisors . These entities are subject to extensive regulation under various federal securities laws. The Division of Investment Management administers various federal securities laws, in particular,

9600-549: The issuer and the security itself gives private individuals as well as large institutions the same fundamental facts about the public companies they invest in, thereby increasing public scrutiny while reducing insider trading and fraud . In an attempt to level the playing field for all investors, the SEC maintains an online database called EDGAR (the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) online from which investors can access information filed with

9720-437: The justice turned him down. Douglas's close associate Tommy Corcoran was later heard to ask, "Why be a number two man to a number two man?" Truman selected Senator Alben W. Barkley and the two won the election . Political opponents made two unsuccessful attempts to remove Douglas from the Supreme Court. On June 17, 1953, U.S. Representative William M. Wheeler of Georgia, infuriated by Douglas's brief stay of execution in

9840-466: The landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), a Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation in American public schools. He wrote notable concurring or dissenting opinions in cases such as Dennis v. United States (1951), United States v. O’Brien (1968), Terry v. Ohio (1968), and Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969). He was also known as a strong opponent of the Vietnam War and an ardent advocate of environmentalism . Douglas

9960-402: The largest settlements in the history of the SEC (approximately $ 51 billion in all) on behalf of investors who purchased auction rate securities from six different financial institutions. The SEC has been criticized "for being too 'tentative and fearful' in confronting wrongdoing on Wall Street ", and for doing "an especially poor job of holding executives accountable". Christopher Cox ,

10080-473: The law school told him that a New York firm wanted a student to help prepare a correspondence course for law. Douglas earned $ 600 for his work, enabling him to stay in school. Hired for similar projects, he saved $ 1,000 by semester's end. In August 1923, Douglas traveled to La Grande, Oregon , to marry Mildred Riddle, whom he had known in Yakima. Douglas graduated second in his class at Columbia in 1925. During

10200-474: The letter was addressed, pleaded guilty to fraud at CA in 2004. In June 2004, the SEC announced that it would publicly post all comment letters, to give investors access to the information in them. An analysis of regulatory filings in May 2006 over the prior 12 months indicated, that the SEC had not accomplished what it said it would do. The analysis found 212 companies that had reported receiving comment letters from

10320-465: The list included former senator and Supreme Court justice James F. Byrnes of South Carolina, former senator (and future Supreme Court justice) Sherman Minton , former governor and high commissioner to the Philippines Paul McNutt of Indiana, House speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas, Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky, Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri, and Douglas. Five days before

10440-510: The low water bridge at Boxley. That experience made him a fan of the river and the young organization's idea of protecting it. Douglas was instrumental in having the Buffalo preserved as a free-flowing river left in its natural state. The decision was opposed by the region's Corps of Army Engineers . The act that soon followed designated the Buffalo River as America's first National River. Douglas

10560-416: The majority under strict construction to uphold the state constitutional provision, Douglas and Abe Fortas dissented. According to Douglas, Georgia tradition would guarantee a Maddox victory but he had trailed Callaway by some 3,000 votes in the general election returns. Douglas also saw the issue as a continuation of the earlier decision Gray v. Sanders , which had struck down Georgia's County Unit System ,

10680-408: The most recent years available), the SEC was among the 5 lowest performers, earned a D− by scoring 61 out of a possible 100 points, i.e. did not earn a satisfactory overall grade. It had deteriorated from a D− in 2013. The SEC's Enforcement Division took a number of major actions in 2009–12. The SEC announced on September 17, 2008, strict new rules to prohibit all forms of " naked short selling " as

10800-439: The move and never practiced law in Washington. After a time of unemployment and another months-long stint at Cravath, he started teaching at Columbia Law School. In 1928, he joined the faculty of Yale Law School , where he became an expert on commercial litigation and bankruptcy law . He was identified with the legal realist movement , which pushed for an understanding of law based less on formalistic legal doctrines and more on

10920-482: The new Commission: (1) to restore investor confidence in the securities market, which had practically collapsed; (2) to restore integrity to securities markets by prosecuting and eliminating fraudulent and unsound practices targeting investors; (3) to end million-dollar insider trading by top officials of major corporations; and (4) to establish a complex and universal system of registration for securities sold in America, with

11040-714: The other stratagems for outlawing human beings from the community of mankind. These devices have put us to shame. Exercise the full judicial power of the United States; nullify them, forbid them, and make us proud again." Can the Supreme Court Defend Civil Liberties? in Samuel, ed., Toward a Better America 132, 144 -145 (1968). "Critics have sometimes charged that [Douglas] was result oriented and guilty of oversimplification; those who understand how he thought, and who share his compassion, conscience, and sense of fair dealing, see him as courageous and farsighted." "There

11160-601: The people, and to deaden its sense of moral responsibility." J. Thayer, John Marshall 106, 107 (1901).¶ The late Edmond Cahn, who opposed that view, stated my philosophy. He emphasized the importance of the role that the federal judiciary was designed to play in guarding basic rights against majoritarian control. ... His description of our constitutional tradition was in these words: "Be not reasonable with inquisitions, anonymous informers, and secret files that mock American justice. Be not reasonable with punitive denationalizations, ex post facto deportations, labels of disloyalty, and all

11280-490: The power to fire the appointed Commissioners, a provision that was made to ensure the independence of the SEC. This issue arose during the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign . The current board members as of September 24, 2024: President Biden has nominated the following to fill a seat on the commission. They await Senate confirmation. Within the SEC, there are six divisions, which

11400-556: The real-world effects of the law. Teaching at Yale, he and the fellow professor Thurman Arnold were riding the New Haven Railroad and were inspired to set the sign Passengers will please refrain ... to Antonín Dvořák 's Humoresque #7. Robert Maynard Hutchins described Douglas as "the most outstanding law professor in the nation." When Hutchins became president of the University of Chicago , Douglas accepted an offer to move there, but he changed his mind once he had been made

11520-446: The refuge caused damage including overgrazing, eroded stream banks, trampled springs, damaged aspen groves, and destroyed wildlife habitat. In 1994, cattle grazing was banned inside the refuge. A study published in 2015 described the recovery of the landscape after cattle were removed, the return of vegetation including aspens, rushes, and willows, and the restoration of riparian areas. A Public Broadcasting System documentary, "Rewilding

11640-1100: The refuge, except compressed air, potable water, and a restroom at the refuge's headquarters. The nearest fuel and grocery is in Plush , 25 miles (40 km) west, and Frenchglen , 50 miles (80 km) east. Lakeview , 65 miles (105 km) southwest, is the nearest city with basic services such as vehicle repair, lodging, and medical care. Accommodations are available in Frenchglen. The diverse habitat supports diverse wildlife: There are 239 bird species, 42 species of mammal, and at least eight species of reptile, including rattlesnake , bull snake , eastern yellowbelly racer , and various lizards. Residents active year round include deer , bobcat , coyote , pronghorn , bighorn sheep , marmot , squirrel , and rabbit . Most birds are seasonal. Golden eagle , sandhill crane, colorful sage grouse , and numerous migratory species. The pronghorn are North America's fastest land animal, capable of speeds up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h), run free across

11760-528: The rest of the Douglas family, did odd jobs to earn extra money, and a college education appeared to be unaffordable. He was the valedictorian at Yakima High School and did well enough in school to earn a full academic scholarship to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington . At Whitman, Douglas became a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He worked at various jobs while attending school, including as

11880-414: The road—Douglas was one of the few American travel writers to visit these remote regions during this period in time. His travel books include: In his memoir, The Court Years , Douglas wrote that he was sometimes criticized for taking too much time off from the bench, and writing travel books while on the U.S. Supreme Court. However, Douglas maintained that the travel gave him a world-wide perspective that

12000-400: The second ballot and none on the first. After the convention, Douglas's supporters spread the rumor that the note sent to Hannegan had read "Bill Douglas or Harry Truman", not the other way around. These supporters claimed that Hannegan, a Truman supporter, feared that Douglas's nomination would drive Southern white voters away from the ticket (Douglas had a strong anti- segregation record on

12120-627: The shipment of Army reservists to Vietnam, before the eight other justices unanimously reversed him. In Schlesinger v. Holtzman (1973) Justice Thurgood Marshall issued an in-chambers opinion declining Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman 's request for a court order stopping the military from bombing Cambodia . The Court was in recess for the summer but the Congresswoman reapplied, this time to Douglas. Douglas met with Holtzman's ACLU lawyers at his home in Goose Prairie, Washington , and promised them

12240-474: The stay, however, he immediately took his objection to Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson , who reconvened the Court before the appointed date and set aside the stay. Douglas had departed for vacation, but on learning of the special session of the Court, he returned to Washington. Because of widespread opposition to his decision, Douglas briefly faced impeachment proceedings in Congress but attempts to remove him from

12360-553: The summer of 1925, Douglas started work at the firm of Cravath, DeGersdorff, Swaine and Wood (later Cravath, Swaine & Moore ) after failing to obtain a Supreme Court clerkship with Harlan F. Stone . Douglas was hired at Cravath by attorney John J. McCloy , who would later become the chairman of the Board of Chase Manhattan Bank. Douglas quit the Cravath firm after four months. After one year, he moved back to Yakima, but soon regretted

12480-434: The term “psychopathic personality” was unconstitutionally vague, and even if it were not, not all gays and lesbians are psychopaths. In 1968, in a concurring opinion in the case of Flast v. Cohen , Douglas indicated that he did not believe in judicial restraint : There has long been a school of thought here that the less the judiciary does, the better. It is often said that judicial intrusion should be infrequent, since it

12600-457: The upcoming year, outlining future goals and approaches to new projects. Quarterly and semiannual reports from public companies are crucial for investors to make sound decisions when investing in capital markets. Unlike banking , investment in capital markets is not guaranteed by the federal government. The potential for large gains needs to be weighed against that of sizable losses. Mandatory disclosure of financial and other information about

12720-402: The upland sagebrush at the east side. Bighorn sheep prefer the rocky cliffs of the refuge's west side. Numerous shallow lakes, grassy spring fed meadows attract the greatest variety of species. Bighorn sheep were eliminated by disease and hunting in this area by 1915. Reintroduction began in 1954 from British Columbia stock. There are now approximately 300 bighorn sheep. Cattle grazing in

12840-420: The vice presidential nominee was to be chosen at the convention, on July 15, Committee chairman Robert E. Hannegan received a letter from Roosevelt stating that his choice for the nominee would be either "Harry Truman or Bill Douglas". After Hannegan released the letter to the convention on July 20, the nomination went without incident, and Truman was nominated on the second ballot. Douglas received two votes on

12960-630: The war and the army's requirements for more soldiers and officers. He traveled to New York taking a job tending sheep on a Chicago-bound train, in return for free passage, with hopes to attend the Columbia Law School. Douglas drew on his Beta Theta Pi membership to help him survive in New York, as he stayed at one of its houses and was able to borrow $ 75 from a fraternity brother from Washington, enough to enroll at Columbia. Six months later, Douglas's funds were running out. The appointments office at

13080-507: Was a law clerk for justice William J. Brennan Jr. during the latter part of Douglas's tenure, characterized Douglas as "a bored, distracted, uncollegial, irresponsible" Supreme Court justice, as well as "rude, ice-cold, hot-tempered, ungrateful, foul-mouthed, self-absorbed" and so abusive in "treatment of his staff to the point where his law clerks—whom he described as 'the lowest form of human life'—took to calling him "shithead" behind his back." Posner asserts also that "Douglas's judicial oeuvre

13200-493: Was a self-professed outdoorsman. According to The Thru-Hiker's Companion , a guide published by the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association , Douglas hiked the entire 2,000 miles (3,200 km) trail from Georgia to Maine. His love for the environment carried through to his judicial reasoning. His interests in natural history are also reflected in the fact that he collected plant specimens for

13320-469: Was born in 1898 in Maine Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota , to William Douglas and Julia Bickford Fisk. Douglas's father was a Scottish itinerant Presbyterian minister from Pictou County, Nova Scotia . The family first moved to California and then to Cleveland, Washington . Douglas said he suffered from an illness at age two that he described as polio , although a biographer reveals that it

13440-441: Was confirmed at the age of 40, becoming one of the youngest justices appointed to the court. In 1975, Time called Douglas "the most doctrinaire and committed civil libertarian ever to sit on the court." He is the longest-serving justice in history , having served for 36 years and 209 days. After an itinerant childhood, Douglas attended Whitman College on a scholarship. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1925 and joined

13560-541: Was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 4 by a vote of 62 to 4. The four negative votes were all cast by Republicans: Lynn J. Frazier , Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. , Gerald P. Nye , and Clyde M. Reed . Douglas was sworn into office on April 17, 1939. At the age of forty, Douglas was the fifth-youngest justice to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Douglas was often at odds with fellow justice Felix Frankfurter , who believed in judicial restraint and thought

13680-399: Was friends with a female attorney who represented victims of the fraud. According to former SEC employee and whistleblower Darcy Flynn, also reported by Taibbi, the agency routinely destroyed thousands of documents related to preliminary investigations of alleged crimes committed by Deutsche Bank , Goldman Sachs , Lehman Brothers , SAC Capital , and other financial companies involved in

13800-476: Was helpful in resolving cases before the Court. It also gave him a perspective on political systems that did not benefit from the legal protections in the American Constitution. When, in early 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided not to support the renomination of Vice President Henry A. Wallace at the party's national convention, a short list of possible replacements was drafted. The names on

13920-460: Was impossible to legally make the profits Madoff claimed using the investment strategies that he said he used. In June 2010, the SEC settled a wrongful termination lawsuit with former SEC enforcement lawyer Gary J. Aguirre , who was terminated in September 2005 following his attempt to subpoena Wall Street figure John J. Mack in an insider trading case involving hedge fund Pequot Capital Management ; Mary Jo White , who later served as chair of

14040-596: Was impossible to save enough money by teaching and I said to hell with it." In the summer of 1918, Douglas took part in a U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps training encampment at the Presidio of San Francisco . That fall, he joined the Student Army Training Corps at Whitman as a private . He served from October to December, and was honorably discharged because the Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended

14160-525: Was intestinal colic. His mother attributed his recovery to a miracle, telling Douglas that one day he would be President of the United States . His father died in Portland, Oregon in 1904, when Douglas was six years old. Douglas later claimed his mother had been left destitute. After moving the family from town to town in the West, his mother, with three young children, settled in Yakima, Washington . William, like

14280-544: Was permissible under the Espionage Act of 1917 , under which the Rosenbergs were tried, a later law, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 , held that only a jury could pronounce the death penalty. Since at the time the stay was granted the Supreme Court was out of session, this stay meant that the Rosenbergs could expect to wait at least six months before the case was heard. When Attorney General Herbert Brownell heard about

14400-401: Was unusual in that he did not attempt to elaborate justifications for his judicial positions on the basis of text, history, or precedent. Douglas was known for writing short, pithy opinions which relied on philosophical insights, observations about current politics, and literature, as much as more conventional judicial sources. Douglas wrote many of his opinions in twenty minutes, often publishing

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