Criminalizing Insider Trading—Did Courts Just Give the SEC Unlimited Power?

In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s Mark Chenoweth, John Vecchione, and Kara Rollins analyze the troubling decision in U.S. v. Sacanell, an insider-trading case that tests the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Chevron deference.

They explore how the SEC created expansive insider-trading rules without explicit congressional authorization—rules that are now putting defendants at risk of criminal penalties. The team examines the district court’s reliance on prior Chevron-era precedent, debates the shaky application of statutory stare decisis in criminal contexts, and discusses why the rule of lenity and due process concerns might ultimately force appellate courts to rethink how administrative crimes are prosecuted post-Loper Bright.

Key topics: Insider trading laws, administrative crimes, Chevron deference, statutory stare decisis, rule of lenity, Securities and Exchange Commission, Loper Bright case implications, and judicial accountability.