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
Supreme Court Upholds Law Banning Gun Ownership by Those Under Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
The Supreme Court upheld the federal law banning gun ownership by those under domestic violence restraining orders on Friday morning. In its U.S. v. Rahimi ruling, the court rejected Zackey Rahimi’s claim that the statute that prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders violates the Second Amendment. The court… -
news
BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules ‘Bump Stock’ Ban Illegal
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has found that the federal government cannot use a decades-old ban on machine guns to ban bump stocks. “Semiautomatic firearms, which require shooters to reengage the trigger for every shot, are not machineguns. This case asks whether a bump stock—an accessory for a semiautomatic rifle that allows the… -
news
Secret Alito Recording Reveals Deeper Agenda to Delegitimize SCOTUS, Experts Say
Democratic lawmakers are escalating their attacks on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in the wake of secret recordings that were obtained last week of the justice agreeing that America should return “to a place of godliness.” Experts say that the legacy media and the Left’s ongoing campaign to target conservative justices is a concerted effort… -
opinion
Here’s Why Hunter’s Conviction Doesn’t Prove the Justice System Isn’t Weaponized
Those claiming that the Hunter Biden conviction proves our justice system has not been weaponized and that Donald Trump and others who have been claiming that to be the case (The Heritage Foundation included) are mistaken couldn’t be more wrong. Examples abound of a weaponized—or if you prefer, politicized—justice system. Hunter’s Conviction in Perspective Biden… -
opinion
Another Left-Wing Attempt to Smear Justice Thomas Fails
The American people just won’t govern themselves the way the Left tells them to. Caring more about power than liberty, the Left believes that its political ends justify their means. Just consider how leftists try to manipulate the Supreme Court, including smearing as “unethical” justices the Left considers too independent, hoping Americans will automatically question… -
opinion
When Lady Justice Lifts Blindfold From Only Her Left Eye
Many things human come in pairs. Eyes, ears, hands, feet, and lungs appear in twos. Even a single nose features two nostrils. Similar examples should be easy to ponder. In this context, America’s new, two-track justice system might be perfectly natural: One for the Left—in which they suffer few consequences, if any, for their misdeeds—and one for the… -
opinion
Guns, Germs, and Speech: Unanimous Supreme Court Sides With NRA in First Amendment Case
What do epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff and the National Rifle Association have in common? More than is first apparent. Both advocate for views unpopular with left-wing politicians, a “herd immunity” approach to COVID-19 in the doctor’s case and gun ownership in the NRA’s. Because of their views, both had their dealings with third parties curtailed by… -
opinion
Should Sotomayor Cry Some More?
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor visited Harvard University last week to accept the Radcliffe Medal, which, says Harvard, “is presented annually to an individual who has had a transformative impact on society.” In 2018, Harvard gave the award to Hillary Clinton—the former secretary of state who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump. In… -
opinion
Supreme Court Rebuffs Claim of Partisan South Carolina Redistricting as Race Bias
Four years after the 2020 census and the redistricting that occurred across the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday held that a lower court in South Carolina failed to distinguish between political and racial motivations by that state’s Republican-controlled Legislature when lawmakers made slight revisions in the boundary lines of the state’s seven congressional… -
news
Supreme Court Rules South Carolina Did Not Racially Gerrymander Congressional District Map
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Thursday that a lower court “clearly erred” when it held that South Carolina racially gerrymandered its congressional district map. The majority held that the “circumstantial evidence falls far short of showing that race, not partisan preferences, drove the districting process” behind the creation of the map. “First, a party challenging a map’s… -
opinion
The Left’s Alito Flag Flap Is Their Craziest Attempt Yet to Smear a Supreme Court Justice
The Left is about power and achieving their political objectives by any means necessary. That includes trying to silence or sideline judges unlikely to be on their side. One tactic is demanding that Supreme Court justices unlikely to be reliable ideological allies recuse themselves, or step away, from certain cases. Liberals have come up with… -
opinion
Debating Founders’ Intent on Appropriations, Justices OK Dodd-Frank Agency’s Funding Scheme
Is it concern for history or the present that underlies the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of the perpetual funding scheme granted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act? Citations of the 17th and 18th century may have dominated the opinions, but concern for flexibility in funding the… -
news
BREAKING: Supreme Court Upholds Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Supreme Court upheld a funding scheme apparently meant to insulate a powerful federal agency from future congressional oversight. The court ruled 7-2 that the funding scheme for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does not violate the Constitution’s appropriations clause, which forbids the executive branch from taking money from the federal Treasury except “in consequence… -
opinion
Supreme Court to Make Significant Rulings on Power of Administrative State, Presidential Immunity, More
Oral arguments are over at the Supreme Court for this term. Although the rallies and protesters have dispersed (for now, anyway), the justices remain frantically at work on the numerous opinions they have yet to hand down. With several closely watched cases still pending, it will likely be a historic finish to this Supreme Court… -
opinion
Big Questions Before Supreme Court in Trump’s Presidential Immunity Case
The nine Supreme Court justices have a major question before them. Is a current or former president immune from prosecution? Former President Donald Trump is facing prosecution for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump argues that his actions as president are protected from prosecution under presidential immunity. Trump lawyer John… -
opinion
Justice Department Rule on Crime Compensation Exceeds Its Authority, States Say
The Biden administration essentially wants states to give federal grant money to illegal aliens, convicted criminals, and people who contributed to their own victimization under the guise of “amending” the federal rules associated with the federal Victims of Crime Act. Nineteen states have objected to the proposed rule changes, claiming that they exceed the statutory… -
opinion
Be It Ever So Humble … : Supreme Court to Decide If City May Ban Sleeping in Public
The Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday in the case of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which raises the issue of how states and localities may deal with the problem of homelessness. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that it violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Constitution’s… -
news
After Judge Blocks Law Protecting Kids From Transgender Surgeries, Ohio Calls on State Supreme Court to Intervene
The attorney general of Ohio has asked the state’s Supreme Court to intervene in a matter involving an Ohio judge who temporarily blocked a law protecting children from “transgender” surgeries and procedures. Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook had issued a temporary restraining order for House Bill 68, the Saving Ohio Adolescents… -
opinion
What’s Riding on a Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Case Before Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court will determine the fate of a major Jan. 6 Capitol riot-related case. The ruling could affect hundreds of people who were in the Capitol that day in 2021, and at the center of the case is the applicability of a federal statute. The Justice Department has been using a statute enacted in… -
opinion
‘Unpacking’ the Court: Why the Left Wants Sotomayor Gone
Ever since losing control of the Supreme Court to a nominally conservative majority, many of the same liberals who have brazenly called for “packing the court” are now just as brazenly seeking to unpack it. If ever there was proof that the Left views the Supreme Court as just another legislative body to lobby for…