By Thomas Gorman ( September 24, 2018, 2:07 PM EDT) -- The question never really addressed, but which has always been the fundamental issue, is fairness. When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began shifting its enforcement actions from federal district court to its administrative in-house forum, the bedrock question was that of fundamental fairness, presented in a series of cases challenging the agency's venue selection decisions. When the appointments clause issue took center stage in a U.S. Supreme Court hearing that concluded with a determination in Lucia v. SEC[1] that administrative law judges must be appointed in accord with the dictates of the clause, the real issue was still fairness. When the president executed an executive order eliminating civil service protections for SEC ALJs and making them directly accountable through the political process, the question remained one of fairness. As the commission implements the letter of Lucia by essentially restarting the administrative enforcement process for pending cases, the question remains one of fairness. That question is still to be addressed....