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
Trump Demands ‘DEATH PENALTY’ for Charlotte Killer
President Donald Trump demanded the death penalty Wednesday morning for the suspect arrested for the slaying of a Ukrainian woman in Charlotte, North Carolina. The slaying has spurred a national conversation about crime and law enforcement. “The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace… -
news
Christian School Banned for Religious Beliefs Wins Legal Victory
A federal appeals court ordered Vermont to let a Christian school compete in state-sponsored sports events—even though the school doesn’t support the state’s view of “transgender” ideology. That decision allows the school to finally participate in athletics again after suffering a yearslong ban for forfeiting a game that would have forced girls on its team… -
news
Supreme Court Stays Order Requiring Trump to Pay $4B in Foreign Aid
The Supreme Court moved Tuesday to block a lower court order that required the Trump administration to spend $4 billion in foreign aid by Sept. 30. The high court’s judgment came in response to an emergency appeal filed Monday morning by the Trump administration that alleged it would suffer “irreparable harm” if forced to spend… -
news
‘Infuriating, Heartbreaking’: House Speaker Calls for Crime Crackdown After NC Light-Rail Slaying
In the wake of the release of video footage of the fatal stabbing of a young Ukrainian refugee woman in a Charlotte, North Carolina, light-rail car, House Speaker Mike Johnson is renewing his call for a national crime crackdown. “This 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee was brutally murdered in cold blood on a train in Charlotte, North… -
news
Charlotte Train Stabber Was Free on Cashless Bail. What Lawmakers Want to Do About It.
The man seen on video fatally stabbing a female Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte train was a repeat offender out of jail on cashless bail. A magistrate judge in North Carolina released him with a “written promise” to show up in court, the New York Post reported Monday night. In a video released over the… -
news
Obama Judge Who Blocked Planned Parenthood Defunding Takes Aim at Laken Riley Act
A Barack Obama-appointed judge delivered a blow to the Laken Riley Act, a law that passed with bipartisan support and that prioritizes the arrest of illegal aliens with certain criminal records. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts is the same judge who in July ruled to secure federal taxpayer funding for… -
news
DOJ Files Another Emergency Appeal After Court Yet Again Orders Foreign Aid Restored
The Department of Justice filed an emergency appeal Monday asking the Supreme Court to pause a lower court demand that the Trump administration continue funding Biden-era foreign aid programs. The lower court order, issued Sept. 3 by Judge Amir Ali in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, requires the Trump administration to… -
news
Supreme Court Hands Victory to Trump in His Fight to Control ‘Independent’ Agencies
The Supreme Court said Monday that President Donald Trump could fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, marking a victory for Trump as he seeks to exert more control over so-called independent agencies. The order, issued by Chief Justice John Roberts, temporarily halted a lower court demand that the Trump administration reinstate the fired… -
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Trump DOJ to Crack Down on Potential Abuse of Foreign Worker Visa Program
The Trump administration will be cracking down on companies that discriminate against American citizens by hiring less costly foreign workers for highly skilled jobs, a situation happening frequently in the tech industry. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department is focusing on H-1B visas. H-1B visas are given… -
news
Bessent Warns Tariff Refunds Would Hurt Treasury, Vows Trump Has ‘Other Avenues’ if Supreme Court Strikes Down Powers
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday where he said he is “confident” the Trump administration will prevail in the Supreme Court regarding President Donald Trump’s ability to institute tariffs. A 7-4 ruling from a federal appeals court in August declared that most of Trump’s tariffs are illegal according to the International… -
news
Trump Reveals a Key Component He Wants in Forthcoming Anti-Crime Bill
President Donald Trump on Friday revealed one key measure he wants Republicans to include in an upcoming crime bill. Trump said in response to a question from The Daily Signal that the crime bill must end cashless bail. “When that came out … originally, when that came out the first time, that’s when you saw… -
news
Swamp vs. Trump: IRS Union Sues to Reverse Executive Order
Another chapter in President Donald Trump’s clash with what he calls the Washington, D.C., “swamp” is heading to court, this time, from the union representing mostly Internal Revenue Service employees. The National Treasury Employees Union filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in the District of Columbia. The Treasury Department was among the departments included in… -
news
Court Won’t Let Trump Require Biological Sex on Passports
A federal appeals court Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s effort to require passports to reflect bearers’ biological sex rather than their declared “gender identity.” A lower court previously blocked the administration from enforcing that policy, saying it would inflict “irreparable harm” and increased risk of “discrimination, harassment, or violence” on “all transgender and nonbinary people.” … -
news
Trump-Illinois Staredown Intensifies As State Denies Voter Data Request
Illinois state officials told the Department of Justice they won’t be turning over voter data, despite the Trump administration’s request. In a letter to DOJ officials Tuesday, Illinois election officials said that submitting the information would violate state law, risking Illinoisans’ privacy. “We take Illinoisans’ privacy very seriously; data breaches and hacking are unfortunately common,… -
opinion
After Legal Setback, What’s Next for Trump’s Effort to Deport Illegal Alien Gang Members?
President Donald Trump’s use of a 1798 law to expedite deportations of foreign gang members is almost certainly headed for the Supreme Court, where legal experts anticipate the administration will prevail. A panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 this week to impose an injunction on the Trump administration using the… -
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Obama Judges’ War on Trump Continues in Harvard Funding Case
A federal judge Wednesday struck down the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze nearly $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard. That funding freeze was part of the administration’s effort to combat antisemitism at universities that failed to protect their students and faculty. But U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs said Wednesday that the halt on… -
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BREAKING: DC Sues Trump Administration for Crime Crackdown
The attorney general for the District of Columbia is suing President Donald Trump for deploying the National Guard to clean up the crime in the nation’s capital. The lawsuit says that Trump has “run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy—that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement.” Attorney General Brian… -
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Maine Democrat Politician Admits Noncitizens Are on Voting Rolls
As the Trump administration prepares an executive order to ban mail-in voting and require voter identification, Maine’s Democrat secretary of state admitted non-citizen residents are registered to vote in her state. “I’m sure there are, in some isolated incidents, some non-citizens may be on the rolls,” said Shenna Bellows, who is running for Maine governor… -
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Obama-Appointed Judges Block Trump From Firing FTC Commissioner
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—A federal appeals court declined Tuesday to allow President Donald Trump to fire a Federal Trade Commission member. In a 2-1 ruling, the panel left in place a decision by U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan, a Biden appointee, reinstating Democrat FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, who Trump fired along with the other Democratic commissioner in March. “The government… -
news
Trump DOJ Takes Illinois to Court Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Laws
The Department of Justice is taking Illinois to court over state laws it says unlawfully offer in-state tuition and scholarships to illegal aliens. The DOJ filed a complaint Tuesday asking a federal court to prevent Illinois from enforcing those laws, which it says are both unlawful and unconstitutional. “Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits…