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
How a President’s Bad Judicial Appointments Threaten Your Liberty
When Americans cast their ballots for the next president this November, they will not only select the next commander in chief and primary enforcer of the law, they will help select a new Supreme Court justice and countless other lower court judges. Selecting judges is not an ancillary responsibility—it is a central and critical duty,…Tiffany Bates -
- News
7 Weeks Before Election, Republicans Help Advance Another Obama Judicial Nominee
As President Barack Obama’s time in office nears its end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced another one of his judicial nominees toward a lifetime post. She may not get to the finish line, though. While the Senate has entered that part of the political calendar when confirmations traditionally halt, the Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted…Philip Wegmann -
- News
How the GOP Senate Is Boosting Obama’s Judicial Legacy
Republican senators consistently accuse President Barack Obama of refusing to follow the law and exceeding his constitutional powers. Yet they’ve been unwilling to draw the line when it comes to giving Obama’s judicial nominees lifetime appointments to the federal bench. So far in 2016, the Republican-led Senate has confirmed nine Obama judges. And that number…Robert B. Bluey -
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Senate Confirms Obama Judicial Nominee Opposed by Maryland Police Unions
The Senate confirmed Paula Xinis for a federal judgeship in Maryland by a vote of 53-34, over the protests of major state police unions and outside conservative groups. Xinis, a partner and senior trial attorney at the Baltimore law firm representing the family of Freddie Gray, will serve in what is in effect a lifetime…Philip Wegmann -
- News
Flashback to 1992: When Democrats Halted a Republican President’s Judicial Nominees
If Senate Democrats get their way, Republicans won’t follow their example. That is, Senate Republicans in 2016 won’t act as Democrats did when they blocked court confirmations in 1992. Twenty-four years ago looked a lot like the inverse of today. On the eve of a presidential election, there was a Republican in the White House and…Philip Wegmann -
- News
After Facing Questions on Abortion, 2 Obama Judicial Nominees Fail to Advance
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding up two of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees for federal judgeships in Pennsylvania. Robert Colville and John Younge, both nominated for lifetime judicial positions, did not receive a vote at Thursday’s committee meeting. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the move was meant to give senators more time to review “their records…Philip Wegmann -
- News
Obama Judicial Nominee Who Accused Reagan of ‘Bigotry’ Faces Confirmation Vote
President Obama’s nominee for a federal judgeship in Minnesota accused the Reagan administration of “bigotry” in her writing for the prestigious UCLA Law Review in 1989. Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Wilhelmina Wright, who is expected to win Senate confirmation to federal District Court in her state next Tuesday, wrote the accusation shortly before graduating Harvard Law…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
What the Constitution Tells Us About How Senators Should Consider Obama’s Judicial Nominees
What exactly is the Senate’s role of “Advice and Consent” when it comes to the nominations made by a president? It’s a topic of perpetual debate in Washington. One wrong-headed argument holds the role to be quite modest: Senators should defer to a president’s choices except in extreme circumstances. That position is advanced far too often by…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Senator Reveals Full Scope of Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Judicial Confirmation Crisis
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pushing back on Democratic charges that the GOP-led Senate has dropped the ball on judicial confirmations under President Barack Obama. Grassley took to the Senate floor Monday after his colleagues confirmed the 314th judicial nominee since the president took office, noting that by this time in 2007, under…Natalie Johnson -
- News
Ted Cruz: ‘Tragic’ Supreme Court Decisions Are ‘Judicial Activism’
DES MOINES, Iowa—At a campaign appearance here, Sen. Ted Cruz on Saturday railed against two “tragic” Supreme Court decisions, criticizing the verdicts as “judicial activism.” “Both decisions were judicial activism, plain and simple,” said Cruz, referring to the Supreme Court’s decisions to legalize gay marriage and allow nationwide health care subsidies under Obamacare. “Even in…Leah Jessen -
- Opinion
Judicial Activism From Supreme Court on Marriage. Here’s How to Respond.
Today is a significant setback for all Americans who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, democratic self-government, and marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong: It should not have mandated all 50 states to redefine marriage. This is judicial activism: nothing in the…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Judicial Activism on Marriage, Like Abortion, Can Cause Harms
Forty-two years ago, in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Supreme Court tried to settle the abortion debate by declaring the Constitution somehow creates a right to abortion in all 50 states. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires abortion in all 50 states, and that’s why Roe is rightly viewed as an activist decision, as explained in this…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Should a Judicial Candidate Be Able to Request Campaign Contributions?
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in its first campaign finance case since it threw out the aggregate limit on campaign contributions to federal candidates last year in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. But this latest case involves the rules pertaining to state elections in Florida, not federal elections,…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Was This Obamacare Court Decision Judicial Activism?
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. claims that last week’s D.C. Circuit decision striking down Obamacare subsidies for individuals enrolled in federally-run health care exchanges was “extreme judicial activism.” That’s a loaded term too often used by those who don’t like the outcome of a particular case. But judicial activism is not simply in the…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
Why a President’s Judicial Appointments Matter
One issue voters often overlook when selecting presidential candidates is what type of judges those candidates will support. These are lifetime appointments, and a two-term president could nominate hundreds of judges to the federal judiciary – with advice and consent of the Senate. From trial-level district court judges to the justices on the U.S. Supreme…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Was the California Teacher Tenure Decision Judicial Activism?
This week, in Vergara v. California, California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu struck down five state laws governing teacher tenure, layoffs and dismissals as unconstitutional under the California constitution. The result of this ruling is certainly good for children in California, too many of whom are stuck in classrooms with “grossly ineffective” teachers. But was…Elizabeth Slattery