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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- News
Lawmakers Hold Press Conference Demanding ‘Justice for the Five’ Aborted Babies
Republican lawmakers and pro-life activists gathered Wednesday on Capitol Hill to call for transparency and clarity regarding the deaths of “The Five,” preemie-sized aborted babies whose bodies are in the possession of Washington, D.C., officials. Pro-life activist Terrisa Bukovinac, the founder of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising and the co-discoverer of “The Five,” spoke out on…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling May Be Bigger Than You Think
One of the more interesting, but less reported, aspects of the Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark affirmative action case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard was its criticism of universities’ racial categories in admissions policies. That critique opens a new way to challenge racial discrimination in court. Lawyers and litigants who care about racial…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- Opinion
Democrats’ Calls for Justice Thomas’ Recusal Are a Nakedly Political Ploy
In their latest attack on the integrity of the U.S. Supreme Court, House Democrats are urging Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a case involving former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on Colorado’s Republican primary ballot. Their reasoning is simple, but dangerously misguided: Because Thomas’ wife, Ginni, has expressed opinions about Trump and…John G. Malcolm -
- News
South Carolina Republicans Slammed for Pushing ‘Trump-Hating’ Pro-Abortion Democrat for Judicial Appointment
South Carolina Republicans are drawing fire from the South Carolina Freedom Caucus for pushing a pro-abortion former Democratic House leader as the state’s next circuit court judge for the 5th Judicial Circuit. James Smith, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee and the former Democratic leader of South Carolina’s House of Representatives, is described by one Planned…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Big Law’s Troubling Sway at the Supreme Court
There’s a big-money influence operation going on behind the scenes at the Supreme Court—just not the one you’ve heard about. Motivated partisans keen to discredit the Supreme Court’s conservative justices pound the table and rail on about a “dark money” conspiracy that uses gifts and front groups to reshape the law to the benefit of…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Must Answer Whether Judges or Bureaucrats Have Final Word on Federal Law
Will the Supreme Court uphold the Chevron doctrine, under which courts defer to contested interpretations of law by agencies in the executive branch? Or will the high court instruct lower courts to determine the best reading of the law, as they do in virtually every non-agency case? Those are the questions the Supreme Court must…Jack Fitzhenry -
- News
Supreme Court Hears Fishermen’s Challenges to Costly Regulatory Authority of Feds
The U.S. Supreme Court took up two cases Wednesday regarding the regulatory authority of the federal government as fishermen argue that government agencies are exceeding their authority by imposing costly mandates. In Loper Bright Enterprises vs. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. vs. Department of Commerce, fishermen are challenging administrative law, dubbed “Chevron deference,” that asserts that when a…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Denies Review in Critical Trans Bathroom Case That Could Have Clarified Title IX
The Supreme Court unceremoniously denied review Tuesday in a case that would have clarified once and for all whether separating bathrooms based on biological sex violates either Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 or the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Now, the nation must wait with bated breath for publication of the…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- Opinion
The Key Question as Big Tech Heads to the Supreme Court Over Censorship
If you were barred from the road you take to work, would you care? Thankfully, those who pave our roads aren’t picking and choosing who uses them, but the same cannot be said of Big Tech. Social media’s expansion into our everyday lives has succeeded in replacing asphalt for algorithm, yet social media platforms are…Wesley Hodges -
- News
Authorities Reveal Another Threat to a Supreme Court Justice
Authorities have uncovered another threat to the life of a Supreme Court justice. Neal Sidhwaney, 43, of Florida plead guilty Friday in a Jacksonville federal court to threatening to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to Politico. That threat was made via phone, in voicemail messages left on July 31, the publication reported. Though prosecutors…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Supreme Court Denies Christian Family Counselor’s Challenge to Washington’s ‘Censorship’ Law
The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to a Washington state law prohibiting counselors from engaging in conversations that encourage changes to a minor’s “sexual orientation or gender identity.” The law, adopted in 2018, threatens to fine counselors who violate it up to $5,000 and to revoke their license. The Supreme Court declined on Monday to…Katelynn Richardson -
- News
California Mom Urges Supreme Court Review After Child Lost to Suicide
A California mother who lost her daughter to suicide after transitioning and was removed from her custody for not supporting her gender identity filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case from another mother in Indiana facing the loss of custody for not supporting her daughter’s gender transition. Abigail Martinez…Kenneth Schrupp -
- News
‘Special Protection for Billionaires’? SCOTUS to Consider Settlement That Shields Sackler Family From Opioid Lawsuits
The Supreme Court on Monday will consider the legality of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, which shields the Sackler family—who built a multibillion-dollar fortune from their ownership of the company—from facing lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis. Their settlement, which the government called “exceptional and unprecedented” in its breadth, would have the Sacklers provide up to…Katelynn Richardson -
- Opinion
How Reagan Chose O’Connor for Supreme Court
The following is an excerpt from presidential historian Craig Shirley's forthcoming book "The Search for Reagan: The Appealing Intellectual Conservatism of Ronald Reagan," to be published in February. It recounts the thinking that went into President Reagan's 1981 selection of Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. O'Connor, who…Craig Shirley -
- News
Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on Supreme Court, Dies at 93
Sandra Day O’Connor, who served over 24 years on the Supreme Court as its first female justice, died Friday morning in Phoenix. She was 93. O’Connor, who retired from the high court in 2006, died of “complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory illness,” the Supreme Court announced. “A daughter of the American…Sara Garstka -
- Opinion
Is Right to Jury Trial Itself on Trial in Hedge Fund Manager’s Case Before Supreme Court?
Will ill-advised precedent or fundamental constitutional principles prevail when the right to a jury trial is at stake? After two hours of oral argument Wednesday morning in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, that was the important issue confronting the Supreme Court. That, and whether the modern desire to empower the administrative state overcomes yet another…Jack Fitzhenry -
- Opinion
Cowardice Fuels Violent Mobs: How ‘Social Justice’ Brings Anti-Jewish Pogroms to New York City
A mob of pro-Palestine students at a Queens high school who screamed for retribution against a Jewish teacher with the gall to attend a pro-Israel rally is another warning siren that America is devolving quickly into chaos reminiscent of the French Revolution. The response so far to this disturbing incident from New York City Mayor…Tony Kinnett -
- News
Why Supreme Court May Knock Out Ruling on Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court likely will reject an appeals court’s decision to eliminate private lawsuits intended to enforce part of the Voting Rights Act, legal experts on both sides say. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a case out of Arkansas that only the Justice Department—not individuals or private groups—may sue to…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
2 Judicial Strikes Against Efforts to Keep Trump Off Ballot
Two state courts, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Claims, have thrown out the attempts by anti-democratic groups to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, at least with respect to the presidential primary election. The attempt to take away the ability of voters to make their…Hans von Spakovsky -
- News
Supreme Court Puts Its Name on Ethics Code It’s Used All Along
Today, the Left is complaining about the very judicial independence that was among the reasons that America declared independence from England. Most Supreme Court justices today take the Constitution as it is, refusing to make one up to promote certain political interests. The Left responds by smearing those justices as “unethical” and trying to intimidate…Thomas Jipping