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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opinion
Supreme Court Insists It Will Resolve AR-15 Question ‘Soon’
Last week, the Supreme Court declined to review a 4th U.S. Circuit Court opinion upholding the constitutionality of Maryland’s ban on the possession of certain semiautomatic rifles the state arbitrarily deems “assault weapons.” Faced with a prime opportunity to reinforce its Second Amendment jurisprudence against repeated and flagrant efforts to undermine it, the nation’s highest… -
opinion
New Jersey GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Eyes Judicial Openings and Targets Sanctuary Laws
HOLMDEL, New Jersey—Just a few minutes after telling an enthused crowed of supporters that he is committed to the goal of a “safer, more prosperous, and affordable New Jersey,” Jack Ciattarelli told The Daily Signal that he very mindful of the openings on the state supreme court. “We have two new appointments,” the Republican gubernatorial nominee… -
opinion
Supreme Court Says No to ‘Denominational Preferences’
Catholic Charities performs religious works, according to a unanimous Supreme Court decision in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission. Was that really so hard? Apparently not. Per Justice Sonia Sotomayor, author of the majority opinion, “There may be hard calls to make” where the free exercise of religion is concerned, “but… -
opinion
Why Did the Liberal Justices Write Unanimous Conservative Rulings at the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court handed down three blockbuster rulings Thursday focused on hot-button cultural issues, and all three of them went in the conservative direction. That’s not exactly a surprise—the court has a conservative majority, after all. The first real surprise was that the rulings were unanimous. The second real surprise? Each of the court’s three… -
news
Supreme Court Rules Wisconsin Court Discriminated Against Catholic Charities Bureau
The Supreme Court has unanimously overturned a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that prevented the Catholic Charities Bureau from receiving a religious tax exemption. Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned the opinion for the court, while Justices Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson each filed concurring opinions. The court, in its opinion released Thursday, held that Wisconsin’s court… -
news
Supreme Court Protects Majority Groups From Discrimination
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday upheld the claims of a woman who faced workplace discrimination because of her “majority group” identity—in this case, being a heterosexual. The decision upholds the rights of majority group individuals to be free from “reverse discrimination,” a right considered protected under Title VII of the Civil… -
news
Meet Trump’s Judicial Nominee Under Scrutiny for Christian Faith
Former colleagues of one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees praise him as the “the most brilliant attorney” they’ve ever “had the opportunity to work with.” Trump nominated Joshua Divine to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri on May 6. Divine serves as Missouri’s solicitor general, but his resume… -
news
Convicted Democrat Ex-Sen. Menendez Accuses Party of Lawfare
Convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., took to X on Friday to accuse his party of weaponizing justice and unfairly ousting him from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in order to advance its political goals. Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate in 2024 after being sentenced on Jan. 29 to 11 years in prison for… -
opinion
Supreme Court Allows a Maine Legislator to Legislate
Most injunction stories seem to favor the Left—but here’s one they may not like as much. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to grant an injunction requiring the clerk of the Maine House of Representatives to count votes cast by state Rep. Laurel Libby, who had been effectively suspended for her views on gender… -
opinion
Fact-Checking Justice Sotomayor’s Imaginary Birthright Citizenship Cases
Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Inc., a case that stems from President Donald Trump’s January executive order on birthright citizenship. At this point in the litigation, the court isn’t addressing the constitutionality of the order itself, but instead will resolve an important procedural question over the power of… -
news
‘Victory for Girls and Free Speech:’ Supreme Court Sides With Lawmaker Censured for Defending Women’s Sports
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Maine lawmaker who was censured for defending women’s sports from male intrusion. “This Supreme Court decision is a victory for girls and free speech, and a defeat for woke gender advocates who want to deny biological reality,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Signal. “It… -
opinion
Europe’s Embrace of Lawfare Threatens Its Alliance with the US
President Donald Trump’s election was greeted in Europe with outright fear by parties of the Left and wary apprehension by the center-right but with open elation by a resurgent sovereigntist Right. Now the Left and the center are regrouping and coming up with a strategy to rein in the surging populists. It should surprise no one that this strategy… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Lawmakers Look to Codify Trump Policy to End Leftist Lawfare
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—When courts issue wrongful injunctions, taxpayers are often left paying for the damage done to their own government. But Reps. Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., are introducing a bill on Monday that aims to shift that burden from taxpayers to the plaintiffs seeking these injunctions, forcing the courts to… -
news
5 Takeaways From Oral Arguments on Universal Injunctions in Birthright Citizenship Case at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday on whether nationwide injunctions violate the Constitution, after lower courts have issued 40 nationwide injunctions against the second Trump administration. “Universal injunctions exceed the judicial power granted in Article III which exist only to address the injury to the complaining party,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued. The… -
news
Defensive Gun Uses Demonstrate Life and Death Benefits of Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision
In a 2022 case called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court affirmed that ordinary Americans have a right to bear arms in public for self-defense, and struck down New York’s restrictive framework for issuing concealed carry permits. This framework, in effect, left most civilians in the state without any… -
opinion
When Tomatoes Became Veggies: 19th-Century SCOTUS Tariff Ruling Hints at the Questions the Court May Soon Face
President Donald Trump has been using an old tool ignored by recent presidents to target trade abusers like China that impose significant barriers to American products and services—tariffs. We all want free and fair trade, but trade is not free and fair when it is only free and fair on one side. As The Heritage… -
opinion
The Judicial Appointment Train Is Leaving the Station
President Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate Whitney Hermandorfer to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. She will be Trump’s first judicial nomination of his second term and will replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, appointed in September 2010 by President Barack Obama. Congress can use its legislative authority under Article… -
opinion
DERELICTION OF DUTY: Chief Justice John Roberts Admits It’s His Job to Rein in the Judicial Insurrection—and He’s Not Doing It
The deep state and its allies have launched a judicial insurrection against President Donald Trump, and Chief Justice John Roberts effectively just admitted he’s not doing his job to stop it. Roberts made a rare public statement back in March, criticizing Trump and other Republicans who have suggested impeaching judges to prevent them from taking… -
opinion
Oklahoma Case Offers Supreme Court Chance to Benefit Families
A great many of the cases heard by our nation’s courts, at every level, require the delicate parsing of subtly contradictory facts and opinions leading to a decision that, almost inevitably, will greatly benefit some people while frustrating the lives and purposes of others. Happily, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond is not one… -
news
‘Pride Puppy!’ Talk in Supreme Court Arguments Sparks Attention
An unusual clash in the Supreme Court this week centered on a book titled “Pride Puppy!” During the oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, Justice Neil Gorsuch pressed Alan Schoenfeld, the laywer representing Montgomery County Public Schools, about the book, and its apparent reference to leather and bondage. “Pride Puppy!” is…