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
Illinois Cop Arrested by ICE Causes Political Firestorm
In solidly blue Illinois, members of the state’s conservative Freedom Caucus are harshly criticizing the reinstatement of a noncitizen as a police officer who was recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Oct. 15, ICE arrested Radule Bojovic, an alleged “illegal alien from Montenegro who was recently sworn in as a police officer in… -
opinion
Majority of Justices Seem Prepared to Hold that the President Can Control the Executive Branch
Who controls the executive branch of government? For more than two hours on Monday, the Supreme Court listened to U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer and Amit Agarwal, a lawyer for Protect Democracy and former counsel to the Biden and Harris presidential campaigns, argue over this fundamental question. The issues raised in the case of Trump… -
news
Sonia Sotomayor Says Trump Will Have ‘Absolute Power’ If the Court Overturns Humphrey’s Executor
The Supreme Court’s conservative-leaning majority seems poised to scrap a 90-year precedent that has insulated the deep state for decades. Justices are weighing whether an elected president can remove executive branch officials serving on supposedly “independent” commissions or boards, and whether blocking the president from doing so violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers…. -
news
BREAKING: Top Trump Attorney Alina Habba Resigns
Alina Habba resigned Monday as the acting U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey. This comes after an appeals court ruling disqualified her from serving in the position. “While I was focused on delivering real results, judges in my state took advantage of a flawed blue slip tradition and became weapons for the politicized… -
news
PLAYING BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT? Leftist Dark Money Group Defends Funding Climate Litigators and NGO That Trains Judges
New Venture Fund, a hub of the Left’s dark money network, bankrolls both sides of climate lawfare: the lawyers who file lawsuits against energy companies and a nonprofit training judges to view such cases favorably. The fund, however, claims these projects are “unrelated.” In its 2024 tax filing, New Venture Fund reported sending $2.3 million… -
news
Supreme Court Takes Trump Birthright Citizenship Case
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on President Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship. The high court announced Friday that it will hear arguments regarding Trump’s executive order that would revoke the automatic guarantee that any child born on U.S. soil—even to an illegal immigrant parents—would be an American citizen. Trump’s order… -
news
GOP Wins: Supreme Court Rules on Texas Redistricting Maps for 2026 Midterms
In a huge win for Republicans that could help keep them in control of the House, the Supreme Court allowed Texas’ GOP-friendly redistricting maps to remain in place for the 2026 midterms. The maps could grant Republicans up to five additional seats in the House of Representatives. Thursday’s ruling, a 6-3 unsigned opinion, comes after… -
opinion
Iryna’s Law Needs to Be Replicated Around the Country
Momentum is building to address America’s repeat-offender problem. The stabbing of the young Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, by a deranged career criminal on a North Carolina train has prompted that state’s lawmakers to make a serious pivot on crime. On Monday, Iryna’s Law went into effect. The legislation is a much-needed corrective to the main… -
news
Supreme Court Justices Hear Street Preacher Who Challenged Law After Pleading No Contest to Breaking It
Justices didn’t seem to break along predictable lines Wednesday, when they presented critical questions to both sides in a case regarding a Christian pastor’s free speech challenge to a Mississippi city ordinance. In Olivier v. City of Brandon, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether someone convicted under a law has standing to challenge the… -
opinion
Polis Silent on Colorado County Clerks’ Demand He Reject Feds’ Ploy to Free Tina Peters
Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk, spent her second Thanksgiving in state prison, as local Democrats struggle to keep her there—despite the national ambitions of their governor. The organization representing the 64 Rocky Mountain State county clerks sent a Nov. 21 letter to Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, urging the governor to reject… -
news
4 Takeaways From Supreme Court First Amendment Case on Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers
Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of arguments from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office justifying subpoenas of a network of pro-life pregnancy centers on Tuesday. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin claimed First Choice Women’s Resource Centers may have made misleading comments about abortion and issued broad subpoenas to force the group to provide donor… -
news
Supreme Court Skeptical of New Jersey’s Intrusive Probe of Pregnancy Center
When the American Civil Liberties Union agrees with pro-life, gun rights, and business groups in the Supreme Court, there must be a pretty clear and important principle at stake. The case is First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, and the court heard arguments on Dec. 2. The important principle is whether the First Amendment… -
opinion
New Jersey’s War on Pregnancy Resource Centers Reaches the Supreme Court Tuesday
The Left is attacking pregnancy centers again. Today the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin. First Choice is a network of pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) serving vulnerable pregnant women in New Jersey. Matthew Platkin is New Jersey’s attorney general, and he is trying to… -
news
How Liberal Lawfare Actors Spearheaded Case That Got Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Disqualified
A three-judge panel disqualified President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer as the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, in a case pushed by the head of a liberal lawfare group, and by Hunter Biden’s former lawyer. The panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit determined Monday that Alina Habba’s appointment violated… -
news
Who Decides Whether an Illegal Immigrant Gets Asylum for ‘Persecution’? Supreme Court Weighs Arguments
Should the Trump administration or the courts determine whether an illegal alien qualifies for asylum due to threats of persecution, when the facts are not in dispute? Supreme Court justices pressured a Justice Department lawyer on that issue Monday. The case involves Salvadoran national Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana, who claims he faced threats to his life… -
news
North Carolina ‘Iryna’s Law’ Takes Effect, Cracking Down on Repeat Offenders
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—“Iryna’s Law” took effect in North Carolina on Monday after lawmakers passed the tough-on-crime legislation in response to a Ukrainian refugee’s highly publicized murder on a Charlotte train. The wide-ranging law broadly discourages pretrial release for defendants with prior criminal histories, requires mental health examinations in some serious cases, and increases punishment for crimes… -
news
Teachers Union Anti-Trump Lawfare Cases Have Little Connection to K-12 Public School Education
After President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term in January, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten asserted she was “really sad” about the inaugural speech. “Rather than unifying people and building on America’s best qualities, Trump delivered a speech that was laden with divisiveness, showing that he is the president of… -
news
The High-Stakes SCOTUS Case Targeting Pregnancy Centers, Explained
As pregnancy centers have increasingly come under attack from Democrat lawmakers in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case next week that could protect pregnancy centers from lawfare. Ahead of the court’s scheduled oral arguments in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin on Dec. 2, women who have been involved… -
news
Did Wisconsin Democrat AG Undermine His Own Case Against Alternate Trump Electors?
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul’s office twice asserted that a slate of alternate electors contesting the 2020 election was legal before bringing criminal charges on the matter in the heat of a presidential election in 2024, based on memos referenced in court filings. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump pardoned the alternate electors among more… -
news
Trump Makes Major Announcement About Biden Autopen Usage
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will no longer consider documents signed by President Joe Biden with an autopen valid, and threatened Biden with “perjury” charges if he said he was aware of autopen signings. “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated,…