5th Circuit says admin law judges who can't be fired are unconstitutional

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Well, shit, even I could have told you that!


https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/19/appeals-court-says-nlrb-structure-unconstitutional-in-a-win-for-spacex/

A federal appeals court handed SpaceX a win on Tuesday, in a ruling that prevents the National Labor Relations Board from prosecuting unfair labor practices against the company. The ruling by the Fifth District Court of Appeals, which suggests the structure of the NLRB is likely unconstitutional, could have far-reaching effects.

The ruling keeps unfair labor practice cases against SpaceX and two other companies, Energy Transfer and Findhelp, on hold while the companies pursue their claim that the NLRB structure violates the U.S. Constitution. While the court did declare it unlawful, this is far from a settled issue and the NLRB is undoubtedly likely to challenge the ruling.

The three-judge panel said being subjected to a possibly unconstitutional administrative proceeding, which is what SpaceX claimed, is an irreparable harm — so the pause continues. The NLRB brought the unfair labor practices claim against SpaceX after it fired a group of employees who signed an open letter criticizing CEO Elon Musk and a culture of sexism in the company.

The core of the dispute is over whether the NLRB’s in-house judges, called administrative law judges, enjoy unlawful protections that shield them from removal by the president. If that’s the case, it violates constitutional rules governing the separation of powers, the judges said.

[DefiantSix]

The scary part - for the leftist scum, that is  - is that IRS Tax Court is set up along similar enough lines that this ruling may reach into their lane as well.

Imagine that; no more presumption of guilt in front of a hand picked IRS judge until you prove yourself innocent... 

[SVPete]

A federal appeals court handed SpaceX a win on Tuesday, in a ruling that prevents the National Labor Relations Board from prosecuting unfair labor practices against the company. ...

More plainly and less tendentiously, the NLRB violates the constitution by exercising judicial function outside of the Constitutionally-established system of judges, thereby denying businesses Constitutionally-mandated due process. The NLRB should have been smacked down decades ago.

As the article points out, this ruling is a threat to other judiciary- and due-process-bypassing bureaucratic tribunals. The Enviros are/will be POed.