Radio’s Ray Lucia wins at Supreme Court

Ray Lucia, who gives investment advice in a nationally syndicated radio program, today (June 21) won his case at the Supreme Court. The high court split 7 to 2 in Lucia’s favor. It was not a surprise, because of the court’s current conservative bent.

An administrative law judge had banned Lucia from the securities industry in 2013 on the grounds that his Buckets of Money investment strategy used false information. In September of 2015, the full commission upheld the administrative law judge’s ban.

Lucia took his case to the District of Columbia appeals court and didn’t win. So he went to the Supreme Court, using a different approach. He claimed that administrative law judges used by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are “officers” of the government under the Constitution’s appointments clause, rather than employees as the agency claimed.

The high court’s decision may cost the government buckets of money, because many agencies use administrative law judges, and now may have to go in another direction.

Lucia had sold his investment business to his son in 2010.