Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Decided June 29, 2020. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 19-7 · 591 U.S. 197 (2020)

Holding

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership by a single Director removable only for inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance violates the separation of powers.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Humphrey's v. United States · 295 U.S. 602 (1935)
• Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. · 584 U.S. 453 (2018)
• Wiener v. United States · 357 U.S. 349 (1958)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Brock · 480 U.S. 678 (1987)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Ruberoid Co. · 343 U.S. 470 (1952)
• Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership · 564 U.S. 91 (2011)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Stern v. Marshall · 564 U.S. 462 (2011)
• Lamie v. United States Trustee · 540 U.S. 526 (2004)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Dorchy v. Kansas · 264 U.S. 286 (1924)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Pacific States Paper Trade Ass'n · 273 U.S. 52 (1927)
• Loeb v. Columbia Township Trustees · 179 U.S. 472 (1900)
• Parsons v. United States · 167 U.S. 324 (1897)
• Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Assn. of America, Ltd. · 601 U.S. 416 (2024)
• Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc. · 591 U.S. 610 (2020)
• Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. · 606 U.S. 748 (2025)
• SEC v. Jarkesy · 603 U.S. 109 (2024)
• Trump v. Vance · 591 U.S. 786 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).