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
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…Sen. Ben Sasse -
- 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…Elizabeth Slattery -
- 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…Elizabeth Slattery -
- 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…Elizabeth Slattery -
- 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…Sen. Jeff Flake -
- 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…Casey Ryan -
- 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…Casey Ryan -
- 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….Rachel del Guidice -
- 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…Elizabeth Slattery -
- 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…Tiffany Bates -
- 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…Tiffany Bates -
- 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…Rachel del Guidice -
- 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…Ethan Barton -
- 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…Carson Holloway -
- 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,…Fred Lucas -
- News
Judge Warns 9th Circuit’s Use of Trump Campaign Pledge ‘Judicial Psychoanalysis’
A federal judge is raising an alarm about “judicial psychoanalysis” resulting from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on President Donald Trump’s executive order on “extreme vetting.” Last week, the 9th Circuit voted against rehearing the case that a three-judge panel had previously ruled on in affirming the federal district judge’s temporary restraining…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Court Ruling Against Trump’s Executive Order Shows the Worst of Judicial Activism
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has repeated the mistakes made by the district court judge who stayed President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending visas from seven terrorist havens. Both the judge in Washington state and the San Francisco-based circuit court have now refused to recognize the authority of Congress…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Neil Gorsuch Is Trump’s Best Revenge for Judicial Activism
We do not yet know whether the Trump administration will appeal Thursday’s setback in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. Regardless, the challenge to President Donald Trump’s immigration order is but one of what will surely be a long series of pitched legal battles—many reaching the high court—as progressives pursue…Curt Levey -
- News
So Much for the GOP Blockade: Obama Tops Bush on Judicial Confirmations
Recent stories in Politico and The Washington Post paint a picture of unprecedented obstruction by Senate Republicans of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees. “Trump set to reshape judiciary after GOP blockade,” blared Politico’s Burgess Everett on Dec. 16. Nine days later, it was The Post’s turn. “Trump to inherit more than 100 court vacancies, plans…Robert B. Bluey -
- News
7 Big Judicial Setbacks to Obama’s Executive Overreach
Much of President Barack Obama’s executive action legacy will be decided by the courts after he leaves office, but he had a rough judicial record while serving. Though Obama has frequently touted his pen and phone policymaking, these actions on immigration, environmental policy, and presidential appointees have often been swatted away by the Supreme Court….Fred Lucas