Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
-
opinion
A New Birth of Freedom From Supreme Court
The series of decisions handed down by the Supreme Court in its latest session are so consequential that I would call it “a new birth of freedom.” These are, of course, the words of Abraham Lincoln at the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg. There is a deep and meaningful connection between Lincoln’s words then, in 1863,… -
opinion
How Clarence Thomas Went From a Childhood Sleeping on Dirt Floor to Becoming ‘the People’s Justice’
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas grew up with little. He and his younger brother slept on a dirt floor, and their mother struggled to make enough money to feed them. When he was a boy, Thomas’ mother sent him and his brother to live with his grandparents in hopes of a better life. Thomas’… -
news
Erin Hawley Responds to Leftists’ Attacks Over Supreme Court’s Free Speech Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado graphic designer on Friday in what Alliance Defending Freedom is calling a "landmark victory for free speech." But critics were quick to claim that the ruling lacked legitimacy — and that ADF senior counsel Erin Hawley, who litigated 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, is somehow at… -
opinion
It’s the First Amendment, Stupid: Supreme Court Holds That Free Speech Prevails in Challenge to Anti-Discrimination Law
A Politico headline said that a recent Supreme Court decision “limits LGBTQ protections” while an ABC News story told us that it was about whether “businesses can refuse to serve LGBTQ+ customers.” The decision today in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis wasn’t about that at all. In this 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that… -
opinion
In Student Loan Decision, Supreme Court Affirms President’s Power Has Limits
Can limits be found even to an emergency? Can the Constitution’s tripartite division of federal powers withstand the blows and novel respiratory viruses that history lobs at us from time to time? Can they withstand the enterprising legal justifications of an administration that lacks the support of Congress? Mercifully, the Supreme Court answered “yes” to all the… -
opinion
Justice Jackson’s Trifecta of Wrong on ‘Research’ on Racial Preferences
In her dissenting opinion to the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down racial preferences in university admissions, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson managed to pull off a trifecta: She was factually incorrect in describing the results of a study that should not be believed, which wouldn’t provide practical support for her argument even if it were… -
opinion
Clarence Thomas Shows How Supreme Court’s Rejection of ‘Affirmative Action’ Is a Fitting Fourth of July Victory
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” On July Fourth, we celebrate much more than our independence from Great Britain. Our Founding Fathers risked their lives and reputations in the American Revolution to establish a government based on universal, permanent principles of justice. At the core of these… -
opinion
Supreme Court Ends the Last Vestige of ‘Systemic Racism’ in America
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the greatest majority opinion ever written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. That one-time Obamacare savior, who in 2012 rewrote the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate as a “tax” in order to salvage President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy, this time penned a landmark ruling abolishing something… -
news
BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Colorado Cannot Force Graphic Designer to Create Art Violating Her Beliefs
The United States Supreme Court ruled Friday that Colorado cannot force graphic designer Lorie Smith to create art that violates her religious beliefs. Smith, who believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman, wants to create wedding websites. But under Colorado’s discrimination laws, if she were to create such wedding websites, she… -
opinion
Unanimous Supreme Court Upholds Employee’s Right to Religious Accommodation
In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the right of an employee to be granted a religious accommodation by his employer unless doing so would substantially affect the employer’s business. In Groff v. DeJoy, the high court reiterated that employees must not be forced to choose between… -
opinion
Supreme Court Fails to Uphold Constitutional Provision Protecting State Legislatures
Unfortunately, a majority of the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision Tuesday by Chief Justice John Roberts failed to prevent a liberal state court’s interference with the authority of a state legislature under the U.S. Constitution to set the rules and draw the maps for federal elections. The decision will, as Justice Clarence Thomas correctly… -
opinion
Judge Misreads Supreme Court in Ruling Boy’s ‘2 Genders’ T-Shirt Makes Others Feel ‘Unsafe’
Score one for the woke scolds, who now get to dictate what kinds of messages nonwoke students are permitted to express in school. Liam Morrison, a 12-year-old from Massachusetts, was sent home from school for wearing a T-shirt declaring in all capital letters: “THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS.” The reason? Liam was told that his… -
news
‘The People’s Justice’: New Book Demolishes Left’s Caricature of Clarence Thomas
The following is a lightly edited excerpt from “The People’s Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him” by federal appeals court Judge Amul Thapar, set for publication June 20. Justice Clarence Thomas walked out of church after daily Mass on a crisp, clear morning in the fall of 1998. He descended the… -
opinion
As Supreme Court’s Term Winds Down, Major Rulings on Horizon
The U.S. Supreme Court is nearing the end of its 2022-2023 term with a number of controversial cases awaiting decisions, including ones dealing with affirmative action, student loans, free speech, and immigration. The cases include Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North… -
opinion
Roberts Leads Supreme Court in Slapping Down Local Governments That Trample Property Rights
Chief Justice John Roberts has taken some lumps for certain decisions he has issued during his tenure on the Supreme Court, but he has again led the way in protecting the rights of property owners from a government often all too eager to take them away. Roberts wrote the unanimous opinion in Tyler v. Hennepin County, holding… -
opinion
John Roberts Doesn’t Follow Own Advice in Supreme Court’s Alabama Redistricting Case
Chief Justice John Roberts famously wrote in a 2007 case: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” He was exactly right in saying so in that Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1. Too bad… -
opinion
Oklahoma Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down Pro-Life Laws Can Be Easily Fixed by Legislature
The headline blared “Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules Abortion Laws Unconstitutional.” Wait, what? In Oklahoma? Yes, in two recent decisions, the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided that three recently enacted pro-life laws violated the state constitution. While abortion advocates are claiming victory, the state Legislature can easily correct those narrow decisions. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court… -
opinion
Supreme Court Acknowledges God Was Right: ‘Land’ Really Is Different From ‘Water’
Michael and Chantell Sackett have waited for well over a decade to learn whether the federal government would allow them to build a home on land they own. (Yes, you read that correctly.) How is that possible in America? That’s easy. America might be “the land of the free” and “the home of the brave”… -
news
Planned Parenthood Backs Court-Packing, Term Limits for Justices
Planned Parenthood announced Sunday that it supports Supreme Court reforms such as court-packing and term limits, according to a statement. After Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, Planned Parenthood launched a “Reclaim Our Courts” website and $100,000 ad campaign to highlight how former President Donald Trump “drastically changed the makeup of our courts.” Its latest position… -
opinion
The Great Left-Wing Disinformation Operation Against the Supreme Court
The past five weeks has seen a flurry of media activity, clearly coordinated, against the right-of-center U.S. Supreme Court. First, the outlet ProPublica began publishing a series of pieces “exposing” the well-known fact of Justice Clarence Thomas’ long-running friendship with billionaire real estate tycoon Harlan Crow, and alleging ethical improprieties pertaining to the justice’s purported…