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
Utah County Attorney to Seek Death Penalty in Charlie Kirk Slaying
The suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been charged with aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced Tuesday. Gray will seek the death penalty for shooting suspect Tyler Robinson. “I am filing a notice of intent to seek… -
news
Trump Blames Biden Admin Open Borders for Texas Beheading
WARNING: This article contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers. Amid a discussion of crime and heinous acts of violence, Republicans are blaming a beheading committed last week in Dallas, Texas, on the lax border enforcement of the Biden administration. On Sept. 10, Chandra Nagamallaiah, a 50-year-old motel manager in Dallas, was… -
opinion
I Went to Supreme Court to Preserve the America My Parents Came Here For
Editor’s note: The following commentary is an excerpt from remarks presented before the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission on Sept. 8, with minor edits made only for readability.As a child, my parents often spoke of the great freedoms America offers. These freedoms and the opportunities they provide are why my parents moved here from Nigeria. They… -
news
‘We Know Where You Live’: Political Violence on Trial This Week Over Threats to Trump Voters
Last October, ahead of the 2024 presidential race, several Pennsylvania residents with pro-Donald Trump yard signs found threats in their mailboxes. “Should your candidate win, the consequences will be staggering. … But more importantly, we know where you live, you are in the database. In the dead of a cold winters [sic] night, this year,… -
opinion
Austin DA Jose Garza Is George Gascon 2.0
There is an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Typically, when we hear or use that expression, it is meant as a compliment. But depending on the circumstances, that may or may not be a compliment. The full expression, often attributed to Oscar Wilde, is: “Imitation is the sincerest form of… -
news
How Vance, Trump Orchestrated Deal to Save TikTok
The White House has finally produced a framework deal to save TikTok after Congress banned usage of the Chinese-owned app in the United States, a White House official tells The Daily Signal. “President [Donald] Trump and Vice President [JD] Vance provided the leadership and foresight necessary to produce a framework deal that fulfills another campaign… -
news
Abigail Spanberger Caught Up in Defamation Lawsuit After Her Campaign Secretly Wrote Jan. 6 Press Release
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA—Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat nominee for Virginia governor, has been called as a witness in a defamation lawsuit after Democrat operatives said her congressional reelection campaign drafted a 2022 Democratic Party of Virginia press release that claimed a Republican “bloodied and beat law enforcement officers” on Jan. 6, 2021. Thomas Speciale, a retired Army… -
opinion
To Fight Crime Seriously, We Need a Return to ‘3 Strikes’ Laws
America’s cities don’t have a crime problem. They have a repeat-offender problem. States need to double down on “three strikes” laws. The recent, brutal killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail train by a deranged, knife-wielding man with more than a dozen previous arrests is the wake-up call the country needs. The… -
opinion
Treasury Secretary Bessent Tells Miranda Devine Why Soros Funds Rogue Prosecutors, Sort Of
If no one supports crime, why do activists fund candidates for office who, once elected, implement policies that enable it? If anyone would know the answer, it should be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who, earlier in his impressive career, worked closely with George Soros, the notorious funder of the rogue prosecutor movement. Over the past… -
news
Nonprofit Asks Court to Stop ‘War on American Energy’
A Louisiana nonprofit filed “friend of the court” briefs Thursday in two cases concerning what it calls “major distortions of the U.S. legal system to wage war on American energy production.” The Pelican Institute petitioned the Supreme Court to hear two cases its general counsel described as “politically motivated lawsuits … weaponized to rewrite history… -
opinion
California’s AB 495 Erodes Parental Rights and Child Safeguards
A recent move by the California Senate Appropriations Committee has left families across the state concerned about their rights as the primary decision-makers in their children’s education. Just this week, as the Legislature neared the end of its session, the state Senate approved AB 495, a proposal that expands the list of those who can… -
news
‘Professional Hit’? Some Lawmakers Speculate on Nature of Kirk’s Killing
As the investigation continues into the fatal shooting Wednesday of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, some congressmen say they think the killing might have been a “professional hit.” The investigation of the killing and the manhunt for the perpetrator are ongoing. The FBI recently released an image of a “person… -
news
Trump Legal Win Slashing $1B in DEI Grants Comes From Unexpected Source
The Trump administration scored a victory over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and a win in favor of the Department of Government Efficiency’s push to slash $1 billion in spending. The win came from an unlikely source, a Joe Biden-appointed federal judge. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of the District of Columbia denied the request… -
news
Supreme Court Lets Girl Use Boys’ Restroom
The Supreme Court moved Wednesday to allow a female identifying as male to use a male restroom while her case is heard. The one-page unsigned order keeps South Carolina from enforcing a law requiring public school students to use restrooms aligning with their sex. The law, enacted as part of South Carolina’s 2024-2025 budget bill… -
opinion
The Very, Very Troubled Sen. Tim Kaine
President Donald Trump has nominated Riley Barnes to serve as the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, which is dedicated to helping “advance individual liberty and democratic freedoms around the world.” At his confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, Barnes delivered a brilliant opening… -
news
Judge Denies DOJ Request for Records of ‘Transgender Care’ for Kids
A federal judge Tuesday denied a Department of Justice attempt to subpoena a Boston hospital’s records of children receiving “gender-affirming care” at the facility. The judge called the subpoena a “bad faith” attempt to stop Boston Children’s Hospital from providing the services, to stop patients from seeking them, and to infringe on Massachusetts’ “right to… -
news
Trump Scores Legal Wins Against DC Swamp, With One Setback
The Trump administration scored two legal victories this week in its clash with federal employees—but hit a setback when it came to removing a member of the Federal Reserve. An appeals court on Monday dismissed a case against the administration brought by states challenging the mass termination of new-hire federal employees who were still in… -
news
Republicans Introduce Bills to Penalize States, Cities That Prohibit Cash Bail
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is promoting legislation in the House of Representatives that would cut certain federal funding to states and localities that prohibit cash bail or do not utilize pretrial detention practices for violent offenders. Dubbed the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act, the bill attempts to “build on” and codify two executive… -
news
White House Responds to Charlotte Mayor’s ‘Soft on Crime’ Statement on Ukrainian Woman’s Stabbing
The White House is responding to the Democrat mayor of Charlotte’s “soft on crime” response to a young Ukrainian woman being killed on a light-rail train by a 14-time repeat offender. “The Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies and bizarre focus on DEI in crime have fueled a crime crisis in Democrat-run cities around the country,” White House… -
news
Pam Bondi Puts School Districts on Notice About ‘Abusive’ Acts Against Parental Rights
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Wednesday to champion parental rights at schools and monitor attempts to undermine them. “Recent years have seen a disturbing trend in which state and local authorities have brought radical gender and racial ideology into our public schools while suppressing dissenting viewpoints,” Bondi warned in…