The issue is whether some types of stock workers receive through options qualify as taxable compensation.
The court challenge to the agency's in-house trials could affect more than 100 cases currently at the SEC.
A discussion about a wedding cake has grown into a Supreme Court collision of some of the nation’s most cherished values.
The administration said it would no longer defend a federal appeals court decision that upheld the commission’s use of in-house judges.
The case could insulate publicly traded companies from some whistle-blower lawsuits.
The move offers new hope for retailers trying to reduce the $50 billion in fees they pay to credit-card companies each year.
Justices suggested the agency is bound by a give-year statute of limitations on disgorgements.
The court will enter into the debate over investors' ability to sue companies for limiting disclosure information.
Several justices said that ruling had changed decades-old standards for insider trading.