Judicial System News
Reporting on courts, judges, and the broader legal system. The Daily Signal offers news, analysis, and conservative commentary on judicial issues.
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opinion
Bungling Judicial Precedent, Federal Court Upholds AR-15 Ban
Last week, a federal judge for the District Court for Massachusetts granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s prohibition of so-called “assault weapons,” such as the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Judge William Young held that the AR-15 and similar weapons aren’t protected by the Second Amendment, because they were originally designed for military… -
news
Judicial Picks Key to Deregulation, Reining in Bureaucracy, White House Counsel Says
Selecting federal judges and limiting government are the “flip side of the same coin,” White House counsel Don McGahn told conservative activists gathered outside Washington. McGahn spoke Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in an interview conducted by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn. As White House counsel, McGahn is the chief legal adviser… -
opinion
Meet These 2 Trump Judicial Nominees Who Just Fielded Questions in the Senate
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered two of President Donald Trump’s best nominations to date—Kyle Duncan for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and David Stras for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, scheduled the hearing over the protest of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who refused to… -
opinion
Podcast: The Move That Will Get Judicial Nominees Confirmed Faster
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced he won’t hold up two judicial nominees any more because of “blue slips.” We explain. Plus: drama at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Prince Harry’s engagement to American actress Meghan Markle. -
opinion
This Senator Is Putting an End to Democrat Stonewalling on Judicial Picks
Don’t say we didn’t warn you, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Democrats at a rocky Senate Judiciary meeting last week. When Democrats blew up the 225-year-old judicial confirmation rules in 2013, Grassley said they’d regret it. Now, four years later, the left is finding out just how right he was. Sure, clearing the way for… -
opinion
Group That Rates Trump’s Judicial Nominees Has History of Liberal Advocacy
The consideration of federal judges with lifetime appointments is perhaps the most important and long-lasting work the Senate will do between now and the end of the year. Every senator, Republican and Democrat, took an oath to perform this duty. Nobody took an oath to outsource this duty to any outside organization. Unfortunately, some of… -
opinion
Democrats Berate Conservative Judicial Nominee for Politically Incorrect Tweets
This week, two nominees to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, facing fierce opposition from Democrats. President Donald Trump nominated Don Willett and James Ho to seats on the federal appeals court based in Texas. Willett, currently a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, is known as the… -
opinion
Senate Confirms 5 Trump Judicial Nominees in Strong Week for Rule of Law
The Senate confirmed five new federal judges this week, bringing President Donald Trump’s total to date to 13 jurists. The Senate voted to confirm Amy Barrett from Indiana to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Joan Larsen of Michigan to the 6th Circuit, Allison Eid of Colorado to the 10th Circuit, Stephanos Bibas of… -
opinion
McConnell Wants to Ditch the Blue Slip for Judicial Nominees, and He’s Right
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., supports an important step toward fixing the backlog of judicial nominations that are piling up in the Senate. McConnell told The Weekly Standard that blue slips—the practice of asking senators from a nominee’s home state for their opinion before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing—should no longer be… -
opinion
There Should Be No Religious Tests for Judicial Nominees
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the case of Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a hearing, Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois, brought up the religious beliefs… -
news
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends Comments on Judicial Nominee’s Faith
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Sunday defended her controversial statements about one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Amy Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was questioned about her Catholic faith by Feinstein at a confirmation hearing Sept. 6. “The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s a concern,” Feinstein… -
news
Judicial Crisis Network Launches Ad Against Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s ‘Religious Litmus Test’
The Judicial Crisis Network is launching ad campaigns against two Democratic senators who are blocking President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. The two campaigns are against Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Franken is refusing to return the blue slip for Justice David Stras, nominated to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of… -
news
University Presidents Defend Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned About ‘Dogma’
Two presidents of prestigious educational institutions have come to the defense of a Catholic nominee for an appeals court after she was questioned by a United States senator about her faith during a Senate confirmation hearing. In two separate letters, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, and Christopher L…. -
opinion
How to Stop Democrats From Stonewalling Judicial Nominees
Oregon’s two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have announced they will seek to block the confirmation of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Ryan Bounds. Last week, the senators announced they will not return blue slips to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for Bounds, whom President Donald Trump nominated to a… -
opinion
Al Franken Obstructs Judicial Nominee Because He’s ‘in the Mold’ of Thomas and Scalia
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., seems determined to block a judicial nominee from his home state. On Tuesday, Franken announced his intent to obstruct Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras, the president’s nominee to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, by refusing to return Stras’ blue slip. Why jam up the confirmation of a well-respected state… -
opinion
2 Democrat Senators Show Hostility to Religion in Questions for Judicial Nominee
“Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?” is an unusual and inappropriate question for a senator to ask a judicial nominee. In fact, the Constitution forbids it. But that didn’t stop Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., from probing Notre Dame Law professor Amy Coney Barrett about her faith. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. D-Calif., also chided Barrett for… -
news
Conservatives Push for Democrats to Stop Obstructing Trump Judicial Nominees
Conservatives are launching a campaign to put pressure on Democrats and counter what they view as the obstruction of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. “This is an issue that has energized the American people in a unique way last November,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, told The Daily… -
news
Judicial Watch Sues State Department, USAID for Documents on Funding to Soros’ Foreign Campaigns
Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development for records on funding awarded to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation-Albania, the conservative nonprofit watchdog announced Wednesday. The suit was filed May 26 after both government agencies failed to respond to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act requests. The… -
opinion
Judges Who Fret Over Trump’s Motives Are Ignoring US Judicial History
President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on immigration is back in court, and therefore back in the news. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the order’s constitutionality. Opponents of the order claim that it violates the Establishment Clause by setting up a ban on Muslim… -
news
Younger Judicial Nominees Give Trump Chance for Legacy in Courts
President Donald Trump will begin to leave his mark on the lower courts of the federal judiciary with 10 nominees named Monday, many of them judges still in their 40s. “The president followed the principles that were used to guide that list to select the additional eight individuals,” @PressSec says. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday,…