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
Left’s Scorched-Earth Strategy To Retake Supreme Court Is Sign of Just How Desperate It Is To Hold On To Institutional Power
The relentless character assassination of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing was a sign of things to come. The Left will seek power by any means necessary. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats held a hearing to discuss imposing new ethics rules on the Supreme Court. It notably took place exactly one year after…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Kavanaugh Wasn’t the Only Justice Endangered by the Dobbs Leak
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wasn't the only justice whose safety was threatened following the leak of the draft opinion showing Roe v. Wade would likely be overturned. Authorities arrested 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske near Kavanaugh's home in the middle of the night on June 8, 2022, after the opinion leaked in May. Roske had…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
1 Year Later: Dobbs Leak Led to Attacks on Justices, Pro-Lifers, Catholics
On May 2, 2022, someone leaked the draft Supreme Court opinion indicating that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned. The Dobbs leak spurred illegal protesting intended to influence the justices, attacks on Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers, and even an assassination attempt against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The leaker has yet to…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
‘We Will Deny You Security Unless You Do What We Want’: Republicans Slam Democrat Tactics on Supreme Court Ethics
Republicans are denouncing Democratic senators’ attempt to leverage the Supreme Court budget in exchange for an enforceable ethics code. During a Senate Judiciary hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tore into their Democratic colleagues for “threatening to cut off the funding for the security at the Supreme…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Chevron Deference, Long Abused by Federal Agencies, on Supreme Court’s Chopping Block?
Who makes the law in America? If you answered “Congress,” you’d be partly right. Congress makes part of the law in America, but only a very small part. And who interprets the law in America? Again, if you answered “the courts,” you’d only be partly right. Vastly more law is made and interpreted by the…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- Opinion
The Left’s Plan for Hostile Takeover of Supreme Court
Democrats in Congress, together with their allies among left-wing groups and in the media, are attempting a hostile takeover of the Supreme Court. Their current tactics demonstrate what “by any means necessary” really means. In the system of government America’s Founders gave us, limits on government are necessary to achieve its purpose of protecting liberty….Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Media’s Gorsuch Hit Continues to Delegitimize Supreme Court
As with ProPublica’s recent smear of Justice Clarence Thomas, there’s a lot of excitement across the left-wing Twittersphere over a Politico hit on Justice Neil Gorsuch. But even as a transparent piece of partisan propaganda, it is poorly conceived. Politico kicks off the piece “Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property” with a purposefully deceptive claim:…David Harsanyi -
- News
Rep. Dan Bishop Warns That Justice Department Helps Impose ‘Censorship Regime’
OXON HILL, Md.—Politicians and policymakers didn’t realize until recently how much leftist groups work with American colleges and universities to encourage the suppression of academic freedom while the government does nothing, a House conservative said Friday during a Heritage Foundation event. “I think that we’re only lately understood the full scope of a host of…Michael Ippolito -
- News
How Next Conservative President Should Tame Politicized Justice Department
OXON HILL, Md.—The next conservative president must reform the Justice Department to restore constitutional government and deter rogue and politicized actions, conservatives said Friday at a Heritage Foundation event. Heritage’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project, also known as Project 2025, says: “Anything other than a top-to-bottom overhaul will only further erode the trust of significant portions…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Tells Maine to Stop Religiously Discriminating. Maine Gets Creative, Does It Anyway.
Last term, in Carson v. Makin, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Maine could not prevent parents from using otherwise generally available state school choice funds at religious schools simply because those schools provided religious instruction. But the state is back at it again, discriminating against families and the religious schools they want to…Sarah Parshall Perry -
- News
‘Shameful’: Alabama Supreme Court Justice, AG Slam SPLC for ‘Displays of Racial Bias’
The Alabama Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Southern Poverty Law Center's motion to remove a duly-appointed judge, and one of the justices condemned the center for "implicit accusations of racism" and "displays of racial bias." "Displays of racial bias would be shameful no matter the source, but they are especially troubling coming from a legal…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
18 State AGs Raise Alarm About ‘Dishonest and Divisive Track Record’ of Biden Judicial Nominee
The top law enforcement officials in 18 states sent U.S. Senate leaders a letter opposing the confirmation of Nancy Abudu, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney whom President Joe Biden nominated to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "I believe in an independent judiciary," Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican and one of…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Sued Over Far-Left Protesting at Supreme Court Justices’ Homes
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project is suing the Justice Department for communications related to the department's failure to apply federal law against far-left protests at the Supreme Court Justices' homes. The suit follows Attorney General Merrick Garland's admission that it is a federal crime (under 18 U.S.C. § 1507) to…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Facebook, Google, Amazon Share ‘Revolving Door’ With Justice Department
The Justice Department and Big Tech seem to have a revolving-door relationship, one watchdog group contends after doing an analysis covering over 20 years. Corporate brands such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon have hired former Justice Department senior officials while also serving as a farm team for the government agency. Big Tech firms hired about…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Senate Democrats’ Fickle Love-Hate Relationship With ‘Blue Slips’ on Judicial Nominees
With the 118th Congress underway, the Senate’s process of evaluating President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations has resumed. This means that, joining death and taxes on the certainty list, is pressure for the majority to rig the process by abandoning the “blue slip” process that gives deference to senators in whose state a judicial nominee would…Thomas Jipping -
- News
Congressmen Honor ‘Greatest Living American,’ Justice Clarence Thomas
As Black History Month comes to a close, three congressmen gathered to celebrate the man they dubbed “the greatest living American,” Justice Clarence Thomas. “Justice Thomas is just a great American who has done so much for our country,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told The Daily Signal. “He’s the American story—from such humble beginnings to the…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
- Opinion
Library Features Clarence Thomas Books After Daily Signal Inquiry
Virginia’s largest public library revamped its Black History Month reading list this week to include three Clarence Thomas books after an inquiry from The Daily Signal. The Fairfax County Public Library, which just hosted a taxpayer-funded event for 1619 Project author Nikole Hannah-Jones last weekend, originally didn’t feature a single book about the Supreme Court…Rob Bluey -
- Opinion
Clarence Thomas on Character and the 2 Great Heroes of His Life
Feb. 16 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Heritage Foundation. For its 25th anniversary in 1998, Heritage published in book form a collection of essays, “Leadership for America: The Principles of Conservatism,” edited by Heritage founder Edwin J. Feulner. One of those essays is the transcript of a speech delivered 25 years…Clarence Thomas -
- News
‘Heroes of Liberty’ Book Introduces Kids to Heroism of Clarence Thomas as Georgia State Senator Calls Him ‘Uncle Tom’
A new children's book tells the compelling story of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from his early childhood to his Supreme Court confirmation and beyond. The book, titled “Clarence Thomas: A Justice For All,” emphasizes the virtues of resilience and hard work, presenting Thomas as a hero of the Constitution who triumphed over adversity from…Tyler O’Neil -
- Opinion
Unions Are Stealing Dues Through Forgery. The Supreme Court Must Step In.
The Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case involving a union forging public employees’ signatures on union membership cards so it could collect dues from them. A federal court has ruled that the employees have no redress. If the ruling is allowed to stand, could public employees elsewhere be forced to pay dues to…Jason Dudash