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
The Constitution Rejects the Premise of Judicial Supremacy. So Should All Americans.
Americans today are inclined to accept, without thinking much about it, the idea of judicial supremacy. We think that the federal courts—and especially the Supreme Court—have an extensive discretion to decide for us the big questions of public policy that come before the nation. After all, the Supreme Court has taken upon itself the authority…Carson Holloway -
- News
Virginia’s Attorney General Discloses That He Wore Blackface at College Party
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring shook his state’s already-reeling Democrat power structure Wednesday by disclosing that he wore blackface to a college party in 1980 when he and friends dressed up as popular rappers. In a lengthy statement released by his office and on Twitter, Herring said he was a 19-year-old student at the University…Ginny Montalbano -
- Opinion
4 Key Issues in Neomi Rao’s Judicial Confirmation Hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday held its first judicial confirmation hearing of the year for Neomi Rao, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for the vacancy left by new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Rao fielded questions from senators about her college writings, whether…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
Democrat Senator Asks Judicial Nominee to Answer Whether Gay Marriage Is ‘Sinful’
Sen. Cory Booker asked judicial nominee Neomi Rao during a hearing Tuesday if she believed same-sex relationships were “immoral.” “Are gay relationships, in your opinion, immoral?” Booker, D-N.J., asked Rao, who is nominated to be on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. If confirmed, Rao would replace Brett Kavanaugh,…Ginny Montalbano -
- News
Media’s Different Handling of Kavanaugh, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Accusations
The uncorroborated sexual assault allegation against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, has drawn comparisons to the uncorroborated allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Fairfax issued a statement early Monday morning disputing a report by the right-wing blog Big League Politics, which linked Fairfax to an accusation of sexual assault at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Fairfax…Peter Hasson -
- News
Trump Targets 9th Circuit, Kavanaugh’s Former Seat Among 51 Judicial Renominations
President Donald Trump renominated 51 federal judges on Wednesday, including the replacement for now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and two nominees for the liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The nominations are going back to the Senate after having been left over from the…Fred Lucas -
- News
Senate Adopts Resolution Saying Judicial Nominees Can Be in Knights of Columbus
GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska introduced a Senate resolution Wednesday providing that it is unconstitutional to disqualify a nominee from public office based on their membership in the Knights of Columbus. The resolution, which The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained in advance of its introduction, comes after Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
The Left Attacks Trump’s Pick to Replace Brett Kavanaugh for Her Smart College Writings
Young conservatives, be warned: Reasonable ideas written in college—such as the notion that binge drinking can lead to dangerous consequences for young women—can and will be twisted and used against you should you be nominated for high-powered positions two and a half decades later. That’s what’s happening to Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump’s nominee to…Kelsey Bolar -
- News
The Barr Exam: 5 Expected Issues for Trump’s Attorney General Pick
President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general faces a Senate committee Tuesday in what could turn into a proxy fight and speechifying over the probe of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Nominee William Barr, who was attorney general 27 years ago, will act to head off some questions from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
What Justice Ginsburg’s Absence From the Supreme Court Means—and What It Doesn’t
The Supreme Court justices returned for the court’s first oral arguments of 2019 this week without America’s favorite octogenarian, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Seasoned litigators and Ginsburg fanatics alike were shocked by Chief Justice John Roberts’ announcement on Monday that Ginsburg would miss oral arguments. The announcement came less than three weeks after the Supreme…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
Supreme Court: ‘No Evidence’ of Cancer Remaining for Justice Ginsburg
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recovery from a lung cancer operation is proceeding apace and there are no signs of further disease, the Supreme Court announced Friday afternoon. Ginsburg had two cancerous nodules removed from her lungs at the Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center on Dec. 21. The procedure is called a pulmonary lobectomy. “Justice Ginsburg will continue…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
Thanks to Senate Democrats, Our Judicial Vacancy Crisis Is More Out of Order Than Ever Before
Some people in government don’t even need a shutdown to avoid work. Consider how Senate Democrats are handling President Trump’s judicial nominees. Or, to be more precise, not handling them. Just before the Christmas break, The Hill reported, Democrats vowed to “reject any end-of-the-year deal on judicial nominations, signaling they’ll toe a tougher line on court appointments amid…Ed Feulner -
- Opinion
How America’s Greatest Chief Justice Shaped the Supreme Court
John Marshall may not have a Broadway play about his life, but the Founding Father deserves recognition from Americans as one of the chief architects of our system of government. A new book by Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor at National Review and an esteemed historian, presents an interesting character study of one of the…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Democrats Question Judicial Nominee About Membership in Catholic Association
Two Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing a nominee for the Nebraska federal trial court about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal service organization of the Catholic Church. Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Kamala Harris of California submitted written questions in December to Brian Buescher, an Omaha lawyer nominated to the U.S. District Court for…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
6 Gifts for the Supreme Court Fanatic in Your Life
Are you wondering what to give that friend, family member, or colleague who loves the Supreme Court? Here are some gift ideas that should delight any Supreme Court watcher, brought to you by The Heritage Foundation’s “SCOTUS 101” podcast. 1. “I Like the Strong Silent Type” T-shirt, $22.99 On the bench, Justice Clarence Thomas is…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
By Democrats’ Own Standard, We Have a Judicial Vacancy Crisis
Words like “crisis” are in the eye of the political beholder. But it’s hard to pick a better one to describe the current state of vacancies in the federal courts. Today, 126 positions on the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals are vacant. In fact, we’re in the longest period of triple-digit vacancies…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Supreme Court’s Refusal to Hear Planned Parenthood Case Is a Missed Opportunity
The Supreme Court on Monday missed an opportunity to bring clarity to an area of the law about which the lower courts are divided: Whether states can prevent Medicaid funds from going to pay for non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood clinics. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the court’s decision not to take up the case,…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
Students Want to Remove the Name of Clarence Thomas From Building, but Can’t Say Why
Some students at a Georgia college continue to call for removing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ name from a campus building, but aren’t able to say why. “We should probably just take his name off of the building,” a young woman tells Cabot Phillips, Campus Reform’s media director, in a video posted Monday by the conservative…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
Unions Defy Supreme Court on Mandatory Dues, Suit Says
Labor unions are collecting dues from public employees without their “affirmative consent” in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling that state laws requiring nonunion government workers to make such payments are unconstitutional, a new lawsuit alleges. The Freedom Foundation, a free market think tank based in Washington state, joined with the National Right to Work…Kevin Mooney -
- News
George H.W. Bush Has a Far-Reaching Supreme Court Legacy
Former President George H.W. Bush, who died peacefully Friday night, made far-reaching changes to the Supreme Court, appointing two justices to the nation’s highest judicial tribunal and clearing the way for three more. His appointments helped set the trajectory of the nascent conservative legal establishment, and permanently altered Republican perceptions of the judicial selection process….Kevin Daley