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

    What Will Happen If Liberals Pack the Supreme Court

    Exponential growth. It’s why plagues are so dangerous and compound interest is so wonderful. It’s also why the Democrats’ flirting with court-packing could destroy the Supreme Court and, with it, America as we know it. The following is a reasonable scenario: Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, which gives conservatives a 6-3…
    Tim Groseclose
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    • Opinion

    Problematic Women: Judge Amy Coney Barrett Maintains Poise Under Fire

    Judge Amy Coney Barrett exhibited her profound understanding of the law as she testified this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Ellen Troxclair, author of the book “Step Up!: How to Advocate Like a Woman,” joins this episode of “Problematic Women” to discuss the Supreme Court confirmation hearings and why Barrett is qualified to sit…
    Virginia Allen
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    • Opinion

    2 Female Senators Share Perspectives on the Amy Coney Barrett Hearings

    The Senate Judiciary Committee has wrapped up its third and final day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. On this episode, we have an interview from a new “minipodcast” from The Heritage Foundation called “Perspectives: Confirming Amy Coney Barrett.”  Judge Amy Coney Barrett sat for another full day of questioning from…
    Tommy Binion
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    • News

    Sen. Mazie Hirono Asks Amy Coney Barrett If She Has Ever Committed Sexual Assault

    Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono asked Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett Tuesday if she had ever committed sexual assault. “Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?” “No, Sen. Hirono,” Barrett responded. “Have you…
    Mary Margaret Olohan
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    • Opinion

    Why Liberals Hate Amy Coney Barrett

    This week, Democrats struggled to explain why Judge Amy Coney Barrett should not be confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court. They trotted out hackneyed arguments, suggesting that some political norm had been broken by a Republican president nominating a judge to be confirmed as a justice by a Republican Senate in an election year….
    Ben Shapiro
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    • Opinion

    Fact-Checking Gun Control Activists’ Lies About Amy Coney Barrett

    This op-ed is part of a series exploring the writings and jurisprudence of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. As the Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings this week for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, it’s a good time to take a…
    Amy Swearer
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    • News

    ‘Excruciating’: Amy Coney Barrett Says She’s Attempted a ‘Media Blackout’ Throughout Nomination Process

    Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett described her nomination process Tuesday, saying that she has attempted to avoid media during the “excruciating” time. Barrett, a federal judge for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, brought up her feelings on the nomination process Tuesday morning on the second day of her confirmation hearings on Capitol…
    Mary Margaret Olohan
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    • Opinion

    In Criminal Cases, Amy Coney Barrett Demands Utmost Integrity From Courts

    This op-ed is part of a series that explores the writings and jurisprudence of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court. Judge Amy Coney Barrett has been a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for three years, and in that time has participated in more than…
    GianCarlo Canaparo
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    • Opinion

    What to Watch for During Amy Coney Barrett’s Senate Confirmation Hearings

    The second day of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings begin Tuesday morning. GianCarlo Canaparo, a Heritage Foundation legal fellow and co-host of the “SCOTUS 101” podcast, joins our show to discuss what to watch for and what questions he hopes Senate Judiciary Committee members will ask Barrett.  Canaparo also previews how he and Heritage…
    Virginia Allen
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    • News

    4 Women Who Clerked or Studied Under Her Share How They View Amy Coney Barrett

    Amanda Rauh-Bieri, just out of law school, knew exactly who she wanted to clerk for.  It wasn’t a lawyer or judge she had been following for years, or even months.  Instead, it was Amy Coney Barrett, who was about to be seated as a new judge on the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Problematic Women: Will Amy Coney Barrett Face an Unconstitutional Religious Test?

    As Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett prepares for Senate hearings next week, many are wondering whether she’ll again face harsh questions about her Catholic faith. Mary Vought, executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund and wife of Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, joins us to explain why this line…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    How Judge Amy Coney Barrett Has Protected Americans’ Civil Rights

    This op-ed is part of a series that explores the writings and jurisprudence of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court. In her rulings on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Amy Coney Barrett has made it clear that she will protect Americans by enforcing the extensive guarantees…
    Hans von Spakovsky
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    • News

    Support Grows for Confirming Barrett for Supreme Court, Poll Finds

    A plurality of Americans support Senate confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, with a boost of 9 percentage points since President Donald Trump announced her nomination, according to a Morning Consult poll.  Barrett’s support is increasing among Republicans, Democrats, and independents, the poll found.  Almost half, or 46%, in a poll…
    Fred Lucas
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    • News

    ‘Kavanaugh Sleaze Machine Is Back’: Washington Post Article Belittles Barrett as ‘Handmaid’

    Conservatives are condemning a Washington Post article Tuesday suggesting that Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett should be questioned during her confirmation hearings next week on her connections with a religious group. “The Brett Kavanaugh sleaze machine is back,” said Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino in a morning tweet today, adding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is…
    Mary Margaret Olohan
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    • Opinion

    Amy Coney Barrett on the First Amendment

    This op-ed is part of a series exploring the writings and jurisprudence of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Now that President Donald Trump has nominated 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the Senate must assess her qualifications, including her legal experience and judicial philosophy….
    Thomas Jipping
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    • Opinion

    Calls to Postpone Amy Coney Barrett’s Hearing Are Disingenuous Stall Tactics

    Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are trying anything they can think of to delay or block the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett. These disingenuous tactics will fail. For example, they wrote the committee’s chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Oct. 3 to say that holding the hearing, scheduled to begin on Oct. 12,…
    Thomas Jipping
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    • Opinion

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn Previews Barrett’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joins the “Daily Signal News” podcast to talk about the committee’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, set to begin next week. Senate Democrats, who generally have supported virtual hearings during the pandemic, now demand in-person hearings to consider Barrett. How…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Charting the Left’s Religious Bigotry Toward Amy Coney Barrett

    When President Donald Trump announced that Judge Amy Coney Barrett was his nominee to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the religious bigotry of the far left exposed its ugly face. Left-wing pundits, politicians, and activists immediately questioned her ability to be an impartial justice because of her faith.  Of course, we’ve heard…
    Kay C. James
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    • News

    Barrett’s Former Colleagues: ‘No One … Better Suited to Be on the Supreme Court’

    Alexa Baltes has a unique perspective on Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, as both a former student of hers at Notre Dame Law School and as a law clerk for her on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  “I mentioned her enthusiasm for principles over preference as a law professor. I got…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    Releasing a List of Supreme Court Nominees Brings Transparency to the Process

    By now, we’re all familiar with President Donald Trump’s 2016 pledge to nominate someone from his list of potential Supreme Court nominees. In fact, the president updated his list last month, not long before the unexpected death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. True to his pledge, his nominee to ultimately fill the vacant seat, Amy Coney Barrett, was on this list.   As with the president’s previous two nominations, many individuals—voters and senators alike—were already…
    Zack Smith
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