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 Trump’s Trans Military Ban
The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration’s ban on transgender military service to move forward on Tuesday. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, asserting they would have allowed the pause to stay in place. The high court struck down a nationwide injunction from a district judge, but it will likely… -
news
Supreme Court Considers Whether the First Amendment Allows ‘Religious Charter Schools’
One of the Supreme Court’s last argued cases of the 2024-25 term may turn out to be one of its most significant. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments over whether states may insist that charter schools, which they all define as public schools, be nonsectarian. Nearly every state offers charter schools to provide an alternative… -
opinion
Oklahoma Case Offers Supreme Court Chance to Benefit Families
A great many of the cases heard by our nation’s courts, at every level, require the delicate parsing of subtly contradictory facts and opinions leading to a decision that, almost inevitably, will greatly benefit some people while frustrating the lives and purposes of others. Happily, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond is not one… -
news
‘Pride Puppy!’ Talk in Supreme Court Arguments Sparks Attention
An unusual clash in the Supreme Court this week centered on a book titled “Pride Puppy!” During the oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, Justice Neil Gorsuch pressed Alan Schoenfeld, the laywer representing Montgomery County Public Schools, about the book, and its apparent reference to leather and bondage. “Pride Puppy!” is… -
news
4 Takeaways as Supreme Court Hears Maryland LGBT School Books Case
During oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, Justice Samuel Alito asked about the ages of Maryland elementary school students taught from LGBTQ books in their class. “These books were approved for pre-K, which in Montgomery County could start as early as three if they are going to turn four that fall,”… -
news
Supreme Court Clash Over Parents’ Religious Freedom and Schools’ Gender Curriculum
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on an important case involving the intersection of the rights to exercise religion and to direct the upbringing of children. The court’s decision, expected by the end of June, may advance or curtail an expanding recognition of the fundamental right to exercise religion. In October 2022, the Montgomery County,… -
opinion
Supreme Court to Hear Maryland Parents’ Plea to Opt Kids Out of LGBTQ+ Indoctrination in Public Schools
Raising a child means guiding their values, nurturing their spirit, and preparing them for life’s challenges. It’s a profound duty, one that parents hold dear. Yet, a Montgomery County, Maryland, school board policy is undermining this role, requiring young children to read LGBTQ-themed storybooks without giving parents the chance to opt out or even be… -
news
SCOTUS Order Pauses Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration early Saturday morning to pause the deportation of some Venezuelan illegal aliens until the court can rule further. The Court did not grant or deny the use of the Alien Enemies Act to remove the illegal aliens, who the Trump administration claims are Tren de Aragua gang… -
news
Texas Legislature Considering Change to Law That Could Increase Lawfare
A handful of laws are making their way through the Texas Legislature that could exacerbate the use of malicious lawfare to silence unwanted speech. Texas passed the so-called Texas Citizens Participation Act in 2011. This was one of many laws in states around the country designed to curtail what’s called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or… -
news
‘The Lunacy Is Over’: UK Supreme Court Decision Deals Blow to Transgender Ideology
The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court delivered a stunning rejection Wednesday of transgenderism, as it declared that transgender individuals who are biological males cannot be treated as women under law. The case first came to the court when representatives of For Women Scotland, a feminist organization, sought clarification of the definition of “women” in a legal… -
opinion
Trump Moves to Stop ‘Climate Lawfare’ Driving Up Energy Costs, Endangering US Energy Dominance
President Donald Trump’s critics are right about one thing: The first few months of his second term have been a reckoning. Starting with the federal government’s pursuit of law firms and organizations that committed lawfare against the president to hobble his political comeback, Trump has now supercharged executive authority to stop the flood of ideologically based lawsuits… -
news
Catholic Charter School Funding Fight Heads to Supreme Court
Oklahoma consistently ranks among the worst states in the country for public school outcomes. In an effort to improve educational options, the state’s official charter school board and an online Catholic charter school are fighting what they say is religious discrimination all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Charter schools in Oklahoma are run… -
news
Dem-Appointed Federal Judges Are the Big Losers at Supreme Court This Week
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The Supreme Court has struck down orders issued by Democrat-appointed district court judges five times in the past week. Without addressing the merits of the issues—which include consequential questions about immigration, funding, and the president’s authority to remove agency officials—the high court has for procedural reasons issued back-to-back rulings undoing restrictions district… -
opinion
Can States Nix Medicaid Dollars for Abortion Clinics? Supreme Court Justices Appear Divided
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case with enormous consequences for federalism and the future of public funding for abortion. The question before the justices: Does the Medicaid Act of 1965 give Medicaid recipients the right to sue states in federal court when those… -
opinion
Trump Order Would Force the ACLU to Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is on Lawfare
What if I told you that when federal district judges issue injunctions blocking President Donald Trump’s policies in a judicial insurrection, they were the ones breaking the law? No, it’s not just because these judges are effectively usurping the authority of the president over the executive branch. It’s more clear-cut than that. When Chief Judge… -
opinion
Supreme Court Urged to Hear Case of Man Arrested for Sharing Faith in Public
Anyone who has his First Amendment rights trampled by an unconstitutional act of government should be able to regain those rights in court, but that might not be the case if the Supreme Court allows a recent federal court’s decision to stand. That’s the argument attorneys at First Liberty Institute made recently in asking the… -
news
BREAKING: Supreme Court Blocks Order Forcing Trump to Rehire 16,000 Bureaucrats
The Supreme Court stayed a lower court judge's order forcing the Trump administration to reinstate more than 16,000 probationary federal employees. The Supreme Court move will keep the employees off the payroll while lower courts resolve the underlying question of the firings' legality. In the case, the American Federation of Government Employees—the largest public sector… -
news
Trump Reacts to Supreme Court Ruling Allowing Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelan Illegal Aliens
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can, for now, resume deportations of Venezuelan criminal illegal aliens under the Alien Enemies Act. “The Supreme Court has upheld the rule of law in our nation by allowing a president, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our borders, and protect our… -
news
Supreme Court Case Could Allow States to Strip Medicaid Funding from Planned Parenthood
Praise and worship music clashed with shouts of “Abortion is health care” as pro-life protesters and abortion supporters rallied outside the United States Supreme Court Wednesday during oral arguments in a case that could decide whether states can disqualify Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. When South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster disqualified Planned Parenthood from… -
news
BREAKING: Would-Be Assassin Who Targeted Supreme Court Justice Will Plead Guilty in Court
The California man who planned to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will plead guilty in federal court, his lawyers said in a Wednesday filing. Nicholas Roske, 29, who staked out near Kavanaugh’s home with weapons in 2022 before turning himself in to authorities, was set to face trial in June. The attempted assassination charge…