Courts News
The Daily Signal covers courts news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on major cases, the Supreme Court, and the judicial system.
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opinion
Progressive Activists Look to Courts to Undermine the Electoral College
Having failed to generate enough support to abolish the Electoral College through a constitutional amendment, the institution’s detractors are now looking to the courts to upend it. A new lawsuit, spearheaded by Harvard University law professor Lawrence Lessig and filed in four states, charges that the “winner-take-all” element of how states divvy up their Electoral… -
opinion
How Trump Changed the Courts in 2017
Even before he was president, Donald Trump was clear about how he would prioritize putting constitutionalists on the courts. And now, at the end of 2017, we can see how his presidency is already having an effect on the courts. On May 17, 2016, then-candidate Trump did something unprecedented. He released a list of 11… -
news
Congress, Courts Must Help Tame Bureaucracy, Trump’s Regulatory Chief Says
President Donald Trump’s regulatory chief said reining in the administrative state is going to require leadership from all three branches of government, but the president’s team is making progress. “The president’s agenda is working,” @Neomi_Rao says. Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order that for every single regulation adopted, an agency must drop… -
opinion
Terror Has Hit London Again. Why US Courts Should Let Government Do Its Job.
A new terror strike in London has renewed the world’s focus on transnational Islamist terrorism, rekindling the old debate over how best to fight it. The debate is understandable, but it comes far too late. It has been nearly 16 years since the 9/11 attacks, and ongoing terrorist activity has fit a predictable pattern—as has the U.S. response. The… -
news
Liberals Likely to Use Courts to Thwart Trump Agenda
After the president scolded judges for not ruling his way, some critics accused him of seeking to intimidate an independent judiciary. “If a judge oversteps that constitutional role and acts as a super legislature, then that judge should be criticized,” @HvonSpakovsky says. That was in 2010, after the State of the Union address when President… -
opinion
History Is Being Distorted to Insinuate Trump Will ‘Defy’ Courts Like Andrew Jackson
Sometimes, an old media fabrication is used to justify a new one. Such is the case with the response to President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugees that created a firestorm on Saturday. Several courts ordered a halt to provisions of Trump’s order, prompting members of the media to speculate that this could create a… -
news
Trump’s ‘Historic’ Opportunity to Reshape the Federal Courts
After an election in which the Supreme Court proved to be a deciding factor in how people voted, President-elect Donald Trump has a significant opportunity to reshape the federal judiciary from top to bottom. In addition to the vacant Supreme Court seat, Trump will inherit at least 103 openings in the lower courts—that is, district… -
news
Trump Could Reshape the Federal Courts Dramatically
President-elect Donald Trump can substantively recast the direction of the federal courts from the earliest days of his administration, after two years of divided government have left vacancies open across the federal bench. Though the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court occasioned by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia is the most prominent of these… -
opinion
With Trump’s Election, the Future of the Courts Looks Brighter
Now that the election is over, many conservatives who were concerned about the future of the federal courts are breathing a little easier. President-elect Donald Trump has put together a consolidated list of 21 distinguished men and women—20 of whom are sitting judges who have had distinguished careers before joining the bench—and has vowed to… -
opinion
When Transgender Inclusion Moves From Bathrooms to Basketball Courts
North Carolina’s legislative body passed a bill mandating a statewide policy banning individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond to their biological sex, as opposed to their opinion of their sex. The law, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, means people must use bathrooms and other public facilities where occupants can be… -
opinion
How Obama and GOP Lawmakers Gave Liberals Control of the Courts
Liberals have a plan to enact their radical agenda. The problem is that it bypasses Congress and voters. Here is why their strategy to pack the courts with activist judges could be one of the biggest threats to your liberties. -
news
How Liberal Judges Took Control of 70% of US Appeals Courts
On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States of America. After nearly eight years as president, he has delivered on one front by reshaping the federal judiciary. That revolution has been comprehensive, dramatic, and under the radar. When Obama entered the Oval Office, liberal judges controlled just one… -
news
A House Freshman Seeks to Take Power From Executive Branch, Give It to Courts
He’s only a freshman, but Rep. John Ratcliffe says he already is pursuing the “most important solution to a problem” that he ever will during his time in Congress. Ratcliffe, 50, a Texas Republican who spent a portion of his career prosecuting suspected terrorists, has chosen to make his name in Congress working on an… -
news
Here Are the 9 ‘Most Unfair’ Courts for Civil Lawsuits
In nine courts around the country, trial lawyers and judges work together in extracting large sums of money from people who may not deserve it, according to a new report. By taking advantage of tort laws, the ease with which civil justice cases are tried in these “judicial hellholes” can lead to higher costs of… -
news
How States Are Using the Courts to Fight Police Taking People’s Money and Property
From coast to coast, states are tackling legislation that would protect property owners from abuses of a system that has become known as policing for profit. Some of the states have seen success with that strategy. But opponents of the tool known as civil asset forfeiture are also taking their battles to federal courtrooms. Last… -
opinion
26 States Have Been Forced by Courts to Allow Gay Marriages
In 2004, voters in Michigan and 10 other states passed state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Ten years later, in March 2014, a federal judge struck down the law saying it violated the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. But just eight months later, the 6th… -
opinion
Obama Administration Courts Iran While Slapping Israel
As the Obama administration mounts a final diplomatic push to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran, bilateral Israeli-American relations continue to deteriorate. This week Secretary of State John Kerry joined Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Lausanne, Switzerland for an intensive round of negotiations ahead of the March 31 deadline for a framework agreement on… -
opinion
FCC Votes Against Innovation: Net Neutrality Debate Now Moves to Courts and Congress
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to place massive “net neutrality” restrictions on America’s Internet providers, in the process redefining them as public utilities. If the decision stands, it would be a significant blow for the Internet and for its users. The issue is far from settled, however: the FCC’s rules will almost certainly…