Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
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news
John Bolton Expected to Plead Guilty in Classified Documents Case
John Bolton, who served in high-ranking national security and diplomatic positions under both Presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush, is expected to plead guilty on federal charges of retaining classified information, according to reports. CNN first reported that Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, would plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of… -
news
SCOTUS Delivers 8-1 Blow to AT&T, Verizon in $100M FCC Case
The Supreme Court on Thursday sided 8-1 with the Federal Communications Commission against two telecom giants over a combined $100 million in fines. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. The lone dissenter was Justice Clarence Thomas. Telecom companies AT&T and Verizon claimed the FCC violated their rights to a jury trial by issuing… -
news
DOJ Says ‘Discriminatory and Obstructionist Policies’ in These Blue States Endanger ICE Agents
Four blue states are putting federal agents in danger in an effort to hinder immigration enforcement, a Justice Department action contends. On Monday, days after a Justice Department lawsuit, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, ordered state agencies to continue denying undercover license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. This marks one of the… -
analysis
Cooke: Transparency Should Not Be Sacrificed in Charlie Kirk Court Proceedings
Mehek Cooke, the Daily Signal’s senior national security and legal analyst, argued that transparency must remain a central priority in the Charlie Kirk assassination case, following a ruling by a Utah judge that an upcoming hearing in the case must remain open to the public. Judge Tony Graf ruled Monday that the upcoming preliminary hearing… -
news
Court Blocks Trump Transgender Military Ban as Driven by ‘Animus’
A split federal appeals panel ruled that War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s policy banning transgender military service is unconstitutional. The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday marks a temporary setback for the Pentagon’s policy. If the policy had gone into effect, it would have affected transgender… -
news
SCOTUS Takes a Pass on Case Tied to Hunter Biden Laptop
The Supreme Court has declined to review a case tied to Hunter Biden’s laptop, meaning litigation on the matter will continue in state courts. Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer for the former president’s son, sued former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler in California state court for allegedly impersonating a Democrat operative on a 2022… -
news
Judge Orders Removal of Trump’s Name From Kennedy Center
A federal judge on Friday ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. “The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of… -
opinion
Lying, Amorous Federal Judge Likely Committed a Federal Felony
News broke earlier this week that a sitting federal judge in the Southeastern United States committed a host of outrageous acts, for which the judge received the ridiculously light punishment of a private reprimand. (Bloomberg Law reports that the judge is Eleanor Ross, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of… -
news
US Judge Won’t Block Trump’s Mail-In Voting Executive Order for Now
REUTERS—A U.S. judge on Thursday declined to immediately block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening rules on mail-in voting, but left the door open for the Democratic Party to challenge it again after the administration takes further steps to implement the measure. Washington-based U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols’ order did not address whether Trump’s March 31… -
news
New York Ban on Nonlethal Weapons ‘Undermines’ Supreme Court, Expert Warns
A federal appeals court is defying a pivotal Supreme Court opinion on the Second Amendment and making New Yorkers less safe by upholding a New York City ban on nonlethal electronic weapons like Tasers and stun guns, legal experts warn. “The 2nd Circuit [Court of Appeals] has found a way to undermine” a key Supreme… -
news
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s $1.8 Billion ‘Weaponization’ Fund
REUTERS—A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from setting up a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of what Trump has called government “weaponization.” The order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia blocks the Trump administration from “taking any further action” to set up… -
analysis
Biden Sues Trump DOJ Over Audio Recording Release
The saga surrounding Joe Biden’s audio recordings continues, as lawyers for the former president on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the release of conversations that were part of an investigation into classified documents. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to block the Department… -
news
DC Area Police Investigate Swatting Incident Targeting a Supreme Court Justice
The Fairfax County Police Department in Northern Virginia is investigating a swatting call at the residence of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett Wednesday night. “Yesterday evening at approximately 9:02 p.m., officers responded to a swatting call at the residence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice in Fairfax County,” the department’s public information officer told the… -
news
Is Instagram Designed to Be Addictive? Supreme Court Rejects Meta’s Appeal
The Supreme Court rejected Meta Platforms’ attempt to block a lawsuit from Vermont’s attorney general accusing the company of designing the social media app Instagram to be addictive for young users. Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, a Democrat, sued Meta in 2023, alleging violations of the state’s consumer protection laws. Meta sought to have the… -
opinion
The Case for Climate Lawsuits Just Got Weaker
Climate litigation is having a difficult month. As plaintiffs suing energy companies for global warming gear up for their upcoming Supreme Court hearing, the plans to extract billions under local tort laws suffered significant setbacks in recent weeks. Last week, the modeling scenarios used to predict the most dire consequences from global warming were deemed “implausible” by the U.N.’s… -
news
Murder Case at Senior Facility Sparks Negligence Litigation
A Maryland murder case involves a suspect ruled not competent to stand trial and a civil negligence lawsuit against a suburban Washington, D.C., senior living center that asserts the crime could have been prevented. Robert Gorham Fuller Jr., 87, was shot and killed on Feb. 14 at Cogir of Potomac in Potomac, Maryland. Fuller was… -
news
Judicial Confirmation Hearing Has ‘You’re No Justice Jackson’ Moment
A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on whether to confirm former Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers to a vacancy on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals notably mentioned Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. During Wednesday’s hearing, Republican and Democrat members brought up the justice’s viewpoint on commenting on the 2020 election. In one of… -
news
Cooke on Newsmax: SPLC Controversy Raises New Questions About Fraud and Accountability
The Daily Signal’s Senior Political and Legal Analyst Mehek Cooke said on Newsmax Wednesday that congressional scrutiny of the Southern Poverty Law Center over fraud concerns is long overdue, arguing that Americans deserve answers about whether the organization engaged in political targeting and how it used donor funds. A federal grand jury in April charged… -
news
Supreme Court Weighs in 8-1 on Cuba-Tied Lawsuit
The Supreme Court determined that a U.S.-based company—Havana Docks—can recover damages from four major cruise lines that used its docks previously confiscated by the Cuban government. Havana Docks, a U.S. company, built docks in Havana’s port before the Cuban Revolution. The Castro regime revoked the company’s legal right to the docks, and the company later… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: Kamala Harris and the Adolescents of the Left
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to Victor Davis Hanson’s own YouTube channel to watch past episodes. Jack Fowler: All right, here’s the headline, Victor. Kamala Harris torched for progressive wish list. Here’s the first few paragraphs of this…