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
EXCLUSIVE: Marsha Blackburn Calls for Attorney General’s Ouster for Targeting Parents
Attorney General Merrick Garland should resign or be fired or impeached for unleashing the FBI on public school parents, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told The Daily Signal in an interview. “We have all these problems with China that the FBI needs to be looking at,” Blackburn said in the interview Thursday. “We have problems at…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- Opinion
Justice Clarence Thomas’ Long Career Has Had a Profound Impact on Our Liberty
Justice Clarence Thomas has distinguished himself as a rigorous jurist on the Supreme Court. He is also distinguished as a long-serving member—with 30 years on the bench, he is the 16th longest-serving justice of the 115 men and women who have served on the court. Should he continue to serve through May 20, 2028, he…Thomas Jipping -
- News
Schools Group That Urged Attorney General’s Anti-Parent Initiative Has Ties to Democrats, Unions
The National School Boards Association, which urged the Biden administration to use federal law enforcement to investigate parents who speak out on local education matters as potential domestic terrorists, has political ties to the Democratic Party and labor unions. The national association represents members of locally elected school boards, which usually are officially nonpartisan, and…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Threatening Memo From Attorney General Merrick Garland to Parents Comes With Serious Conflict of Interest
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a threatening memo on Monday calling on the FBI to address “violent threats against school officials and teachers.” It was an obvious shot at parents who oppose schools and school boards that promote woke ideology and critical race theory in classrooms that exploded this year. Somehow, the story gets even…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
‘Arrest Me!’: Mom Challenges Attorney General’s Call for Probing Threats to School Boards
Rhode Island mom Nicole Solas says she is just one of many parents “with legitimate concerns about our kids’ education.” Solas drew national attention earlier this year when her local school board in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, threatened to sue her over public record requests she made to learn what her local school district was…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Attorney General Garland Abuses Power He Doesn’t Have to Threaten Parents
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo on Monday directing the Department of Justice and the FBI to “launch a series of additional efforts in the coming days designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.” The Garland memo looks like an effort to use the FBI to threaten and silence…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- Opinion
5 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in the 2021-22 Term
The Supreme Court has already agreed to review several important cases in its upcoming term, and it will likely add more soon. Here’s a preview of five of the most important cases the Supreme Court will hear in its 2021-2022 term. 1. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization This is the most important abortion case…Zack Smith -
- Opinion
Clarence Thomas’ Remarks Reveal America’s True Culture War
Last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas arrived at the University of Notre Dame to speak about the Declaration of Independence. Speaking invitations like this that Thomas accepts are few and far between. Anyone who cares about our country and listens to this address will wish that he would agree to speak more. His presentation…Star Parker -
- News
Judicial Philosophies Not Same as Political Parties, Justice Barrett Argues
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, saying she worries that the court increasingly is being portrayed to the public as a partisan institution, emphasized that justices must be “hyper-vigilant” that they don't let personal biases affect their work. “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Supreme Court Strikes Down Biden’s New Eviction Moratorium
The Supreme Court ordered the Biden administration on Thursday to stop enforcing the federal eviction moratorium recently extended to October. In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the high court ruled that the moratorium, which has prohibited landlords from evicting low-income tenants since its implementation in March 2020, would need congressional authorization to be continued. The decision…Thomas Catenacci -
- Opinion
Remembering and Appreciating Donald Kagan, Yale Professor, Scholar, and Mentor
Donald Kagan, who taught history and classics at Yale University, and was widely revered as one of the university’s finest teachers and the nation’s greatest scholars, died on Aug. 6. Kagan was the author of many books, and had a wide influence on the understanding of history and hence on the making of U.S. foreign…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
Kavanaugh Eats Crow on Eviction Moratorium
Judges can’t avoid politics by playing politics. That might seem like a no-brainer to most people, but some judges can’t seem to figure that out. Exhibit A is Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who’s about to eat his own words from just a month ago. The story starts with the Centers for Disease Control and…GianCarlo Canaparo -
- News
Mississippi Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has called on the Supreme Court to defend the right of states to pass laws protecting “life and women’s health,” urging the high court to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. The Mississippi attorney general filed a brief Thursday in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which the court will…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Senate Democrats, Slamming FBI, Seek to Revive Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Allegations
Senate Democrats demanded this week that the FBI hand over additional information related to its 2018 investigation into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Chris Coons, D-Del., raised a series of questions about the FBI’s handling of its sexual misconduct probe into Kavanaugh…Thomas Catenacci -
- Opinion
As Predicted, Court-Packing Looms Large in Supreme Court Commission’s Second Public Meeting
The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court met Tuesday for its second public meeting, hearing from 27 witnesses about everything from the court’s so-called shadow docket to court-packing and time limits for the confirmation process. The commission’s report for President Joe Biden is due by mid-November, but if this and its May 19 meeting are…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
We Hear You: Supreme Court Abandons Christian Florist
Editor's note: The Daily Signal's audience appears flabbergasted that the Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a florist in Washington state who declined to do floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. Here's a sampling from the mailbag at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: In his story "Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Appeal of…Ken McIntyre -
- News
Trump’s Lawsuits Against Big Tech Will Go ‘All the Way’ to Supreme Court, Backers Say
Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuits against censorship by Big Tech companies likely will reach the U.S. Supreme Court, the leaders of a public policy group backing the legal action say. “Ultimately, we are going to take [the case] all the way,” Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, said in a…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Denies a Woman’s Free Exercise of Christianity
Can Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian, run her flower shop in keeping with her faith? The Supreme Court—with determinative votes cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh—has effectively decided she cannot. “My faith is a part of every aspect of my life,” Stutzman said in a sworn statement presented…Terence Jeffrey -
- Opinion
‘Scholars and Scribes’ Preview: 5 Big Cases From Supreme Court’s 2020 Term
Now that the Supreme Court’s 2020 term has concluded, it is time to review it. This was the first term we saw Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court in October 2020, in action. Hopefully it’s the last term that has telephonic oral arguments (although we hope that Justice Clarence Thomas continues to ask…Zack Smith -
- News
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Appeal of Christian Florist in Same-Sex Wedding Case
The Supreme Court on Friday announced it had declined to review the case of a Christian florist in Washington state involving same-sex marriage, again punting on major constitutional questions involving religious freedom. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito expressed support for hearing the case, but to take a case requires the votes of at…Fred Lucas