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
South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Post-Heartbeat Abortions
In June 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court said what we can all read for ourselves, that the U.S. Constitution “does not confer a right to abortion.” That shifted the venue for those who want to eliminate any legal protection for the unborn to state courts and state constitutions….Thomas Jipping -
- News
Pence Pledges to ‘Clean House’ at the Justice Department
ATLANTA—Former Vice President Mike Pence pledged that, if elected president in 2024, he would fire the senior leaders at the Department of Justice in the wake of the Russia collusion hoax and the FBI’s targeting “radical-traditional Catholics.” “If I become president of the United States, we’re going to clean house on the entire top floor of the…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
The Left’s Relentless, Unjustified Assaults on the Supreme Court’s Legitimacy
In recent years, the Supreme Court has been the target of a relentless and strategic campaign aimed at undermining its credibility and impartiality. Left-wing publications such as ProPublica, Slate, and The Guardian have led an orchestrated assault against the high court’s Republican-appointed justices, and their message has been amplified by Senate Democrats. Their motive? To…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Joe Biden’s DOJ: Where Justice Goes to Die
The Department of Justice should be honest and call itself Biden Campaign Headquarters. As a fearsome whiff of East Germany wafts through its windows, this Cabinet agency persecutes Donald Trump, the president’s chief political rival, and keeps the heat off of the Bidens. Regardless, temperatures are hotter than July. Special counsel Jack Smith’s four-count indictment…Deroy Murdock -
- Opinion
Upcoming Supreme Court Cases Could Dramatically Rein in Regulatory Agencies
This fall, the Supreme Court will hear several cases affording promising opportunities to rein in the federal administrative state. The court has agreed to decide cases that challenge the practice of federal courts showing judicial deference to agency interpretations of the laws they are charged with enforcing as well as the constitutionality of an agency…Jack Fitzhenry -
- News
Bureaucrats ‘Don’t Give a Damn’: Ted Cruz EVISCERATES Chevron Deference in New Supreme Court Filing
Sen. Ted Cruz took aim Thursday at a Supreme Court precedent that empowers the administrative state at the expense of the people's will and the Framers' vision in the Constitution. This Supreme Court doctrine has "played an enormous role in the expansion of the administrative state," Cruz, a Texas Republican, told The Daily Signal in…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
‘NEVER WHAT FOUNDERS INTENDED’: Supreme Court Should Strike Down Chevron Deference, Conservatives Say
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A conservative nonprofit launched by former Vice President Mike Pence is representing 11 conservative groups in supporting fishermen challenging the extensive power of the federal bureaucracy. Advancing American Freedom, which plays no role in Pence's 2024 presidential campaign, filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case Loper Bright Enterprises v….Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Harvard Law Professor Forgets Why Judicial Review Exists
G.K. Chesterton, that extraordinary author and philosopher, once told a story about a fence blocking a road. Two people approach it, and the first says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” The second person, however, is smarter and says, “If you don’t see the use of it, I won’t…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- News
Woman at Center of Supreme Court Case Describes Death Threats, Harassment, ‘Doxxing’
United States Supreme Court cases have become fraught with peril for those who differ from leftist ideology: Litigants face potential death threats, protesting, harassment, and "doxxing" (putting their personal information, even their addresses, online to encourage harassment). Justices have faced the same—including at least one attempted assassination. Following the leak of the draft Supreme Court…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
How Democrats and Their Media Allies Cooked Up a Phony Supreme Court ‘Legitimacy Crisis’
The legacy media has signaled that it’s all in on the Left’s cooked-up Supreme Court “legitimacy crisis.” This week, Senate Democrats plan to vote on Supreme Court ethics rules that are clearly meant to give them the ability to hector and harass the court to get the decisions they want. The vote coincides with an…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Term Limits: Still a ‘Solution’ in Search of a Problem
Whoever came up with the axiom “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game” probably didn’t lose very often. The Left today is losing at the Supreme Court, and they don’t like it one bit. They respond by smearing the justices responsible for decisions they don’t like with fake…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Some Supreme Court Justices Have a Slippery Handle on Facts
The U.S. Supreme Court is finished for the term, but questions about accuracy should follow some justices into the next session in October. For example: Was Justice Sonia Sotomayor correct in her description of a key historical event in a recent dissenting opinion—or did she obscure details to suit her purposes? And with the revelation…Jonathan Butcher -
- News
Vivek Ramaswamy Releases Supreme Court Picks
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy released a list of judges Monday that he will consider for top judicial appointments should he become president of the United States. Ramaswamy's list of Supreme Court candidates includes James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; Lawrence VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
5 Major Cases That Highlighted Supreme Court’s 2022-2023 Term
Another year, another Supreme Court term in the books. And again, the court kept everyone waiting for many of its most consequential decisions until the last days of the 2022-2023 term. It was worth the wait, however, since the court issued important decisions that proved to be victories for the rule of law on affirmative…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Smoke, Mirrors, and Justice
In the recently concluded term, the Supreme Court found itself in a storm of consequential cases, overturning precedents, and taking controversial stances that shifted society and upheld constitutional values. Democrats have, in reaction, decried the Supreme Court, framing it as a rogue entity, a politicized institution that has lost its credibility. They lament what they…Armstrong Williams -
- News
Sotomayor’s Staff Leaned on Colleges, Libraries to Buy Her Book Ahead of Speaking Gigs
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s taxpayer-funded staff frequently pushed colleges and libraries to purchase her books ahead of speaking engagements, according to The Associated Press. Supreme Court staff often assisted with arranging speaking engagements designed to promote Sotomayor’s books, which have earned the justice a minimum of $3.7 million since she took her seat on the bench…Katelynn Richardson -
- Opinion
To Gain Power, the Left Seeks to Destroy the Supreme Court
Always remember: Any institution the Left doesn’t control, it will seek to destroy. The Supreme Court dealt a series of serious blows to the Left’s agenda this summer, and leftists aren’t taking it well. First, the high court ended racial discrimination in college admissions, which the Left views as essential to upholding the diversity, equity,…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
A New Birth of Freedom From Supreme Court
The series of decisions handed down by the Supreme Court in its latest session are so consequential that I would call it “a new birth of freedom.” These are, of course, the words of Abraham Lincoln at the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg. There is a deep and meaningful connection between Lincoln’s words then, in 1863,…Star Parker -
- Opinion
How Clarence Thomas Went From a Childhood Sleeping on Dirt Floor to Becoming ‘the People’s Justice’
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas grew up with little. He and his younger brother slept on a dirt floor, and their mother struggled to make enough money to feed them. When he was a boy, Thomas’ mother sent him and his brother to live with his grandparents in hopes of a better life. Thomas’…Virginia Allen -
- News
Erin Hawley Responds to Leftists’ Attacks Over Supreme Court’s Free Speech Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado graphic designer on Friday in what Alliance Defending Freedom is calling a "landmark victory for free speech." But critics were quick to claim that the ruling lacked legitimacy — and that ADF senior counsel Erin Hawley, who litigated 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, is somehow at…Mary Margaret Olohan