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
BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules on Mexico’s Attack on US Gun Manufacturers
The Supreme Court unanimously struck down Mexico's challenge to U.S. gun manufacturers, holding that they cannot be blamed for crime and cartel violence south of the border. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the unanimous opinion of the court. Justices Clarence Thomas and Kentanji Brown Jackson filed concurring opinions. Kagan ruled that because Mexico did not plausibly… -
news
Supreme Court Protects Majority Groups From Discrimination
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday upheld the claims of a woman who faced workplace discrimination because of her “majority group” identity—in this case, being a heterosexual. The decision upholds the rights of majority group individuals to be free from “reverse discrimination,” a right considered protected under Title VII of the Civil… -
news
Meet Trump’s Judicial Nominee Under Scrutiny for Christian Faith
Former colleagues of one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees praise him as the “the most brilliant attorney” they’ve ever “had the opportunity to work with.” Trump nominated Joshua Divine to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri on May 6. Divine serves as Missouri’s solicitor general, but his resume… -
news
Supreme Court to Take on Illinois Late Ballot Case With Far-Reaching Election Integrity Implications
THE CENTER SQUARE—In a move that could have major implications for election procedures across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case brought by Judicial Watch challenging whether federal courts have jurisdiction to hear disputes over ballots received after Election Day. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and two electors sued over… -
news
Convicted Democrat Ex-Sen. Menendez Accuses Party of Lawfare
Convicted former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., took to X on Friday to accuse his party of weaponizing justice and unfairly ousting him from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in order to advance its political goals. Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate in 2024 after being sentenced on Jan. 29 to 11 years in prison for… -
news
SCOTUS Allows Trump Administration to Revoke Legal Status for 500K Illegal Aliens
The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to revoke temporary protected status for 500,000 illegal aliens living in the U.S. In a 7-2 ruling on Friday, the justices lifted a lower court’s order that barred the Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who entered the U.S. under… -
opinion
Supreme Court Gives Trump a Quiet, Yet Potentially Large Victory Against Administrative State
As Americans began to prepare for Memorial Day weekend, the Supreme Court quietly handed President Donald Trump a significant victory in the fight to rein in the rogue D.C. bureaucracy. In a short, two-page order, the court stayed a district court order that directed Trump to reinstate two federal officials whom he had fired. … -
news
WHO VOTED AGAINST? Supreme Court Splits 4-4 on Catholic Charter School
In a tied decision, the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday allowed an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to stand, disqualifying a Catholic charter school from receiving state funding. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the ruling, resulting in the 4-4 decision. The court did not issue an opinion, only stating, “The judgment is affirmed by an… -
opinion
Supreme Court Allows a Maine Legislator to Legislate
Most injunction stories seem to favor the Left—but here’s one they may not like as much. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to grant an injunction requiring the clerk of the Maine House of Representatives to count votes cast by state Rep. Laurel Libby, who had been effectively suspended for her views on gender… -
opinion
Fact-Checking Justice Sotomayor’s Imaginary Birthright Citizenship Cases
Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Inc., a case that stems from President Donald Trump’s January executive order on birthright citizenship. At this point in the litigation, the court isn’t addressing the constitutionality of the order itself, but instead will resolve an important procedural question over the power of… -
news
‘Victory for Girls and Free Speech:’ Supreme Court Sides With Lawmaker Censured for Defending Women’s Sports
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Maine lawmaker who was censured for defending women’s sports from male intrusion. “This Supreme Court decision is a victory for girls and free speech, and a defeat for woke gender advocates who want to deny biological reality,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Signal. “It… -
news
Supreme Court Allows Trump to Proceed With Plans to Remove Deportation Protections for Venezuelan Illegal Aliens
The Supreme Court will allow, for now, the Trump administration to proceed with plans to strip temporary legal protected status from thousands of illegal aliens from Venezuela living in the U.S. The court’s decision allows the Trump administration to move forward with plans to cancel Temporary Protected Status for illegal aliens who entered the U.S…. -
opinion
Europe’s Embrace of Lawfare Threatens Its Alliance with the US
President Donald Trump’s election was greeted in Europe with outright fear by parties of the Left and wary apprehension by the center-right but with open elation by a resurgent sovereigntist Right. Now the Left and the center are regrouping and coming up with a strategy to rein in the surging populists. It should surprise no one that this strategy… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Lawmakers Look to Codify Trump Policy to End Leftist Lawfare
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—When courts issue wrongful injunctions, taxpayers are often left paying for the damage done to their own government. But Reps. Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., are introducing a bill on Monday that aims to shift that burden from taxpayers to the plaintiffs seeking these injunctions, forcing the courts to… -
news
Trump Bashes Supreme Court Following Order Further Blocking Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Illegal Gang Members
The Supreme Court has extended its block on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal alien gang members from Venezuela. “The Supreme Court has just ruled that the worst murderers, drug dealers, gang members, and even those who are mentally insane, who came into our country illegally, are not… -
news
5 Takeaways From Oral Arguments on Universal Injunctions in Birthright Citizenship Case at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday on whether nationwide injunctions violate the Constitution, after lower courts have issued 40 nationwide injunctions against the second Trump administration. “Universal injunctions exceed the judicial power granted in Article III which exist only to address the injury to the complaining party,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued. The… -
news
Defensive Gun Uses Demonstrate Life and Death Benefits of Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision
In a 2022 case called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court affirmed that ordinary Americans have a right to bear arms in public for self-defense, and struck down New York’s restrictive framework for issuing concealed carry permits. This framework, in effect, left most civilians in the state without any… -
opinion
When Tomatoes Became Veggies: 19th-Century SCOTUS Tariff Ruling Hints at the Questions the Court May Soon Face
President Donald Trump has been using an old tool ignored by recent presidents to target trade abusers like China that impose significant barriers to American products and services—tariffs. We all want free and fair trade, but trade is not free and fair when it is only free and fair on one side. As The Heritage… -
opinion
The Judicial Appointment Train Is Leaving the Station
President Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate Whitney Hermandorfer to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. She will be Trump’s first judicial nomination of his second term and will replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, appointed in September 2010 by President Barack Obama. Congress can use its legislative authority under Article… -
opinion
DERELICTION OF DUTY: Chief Justice John Roberts Admits It’s His Job to Rein in the Judicial Insurrection—and He’s Not Doing It
The deep state and its allies have launched a judicial insurrection against President Donald Trump, and Chief Justice John Roberts effectively just admitted he’s not doing his job to stop it. Roberts made a rare public statement back in March, criticizing Trump and other Republicans who have suggested impeaching judges to prevent them from taking…