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
Democrats Vote Against Trump’s Judicial Nominees Far More Than Republicans Did Against Obama’s
The Senate has confirmed Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She’s exactly the kind of impartial judge that we need across the judiciary. That makes 91 judges overall, and 36 to the federal appeals court, since President Donald Trump took office. Whatever those numbers mean on their own, the… -
opinion
Supreme Court Is Back in Session. Here’s What’s on the Docket.
After a two-week break, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in several cases during its March sitting. Among the issues the court will address are partisan gerrymandering (for a second year in a row), racial bias in jury selection, and whether courts should defer to administrative agencies in interpreting their regulations. Rucho… -
news
Senate Confirms Rao to Succeed Kavanaugh on DC Circuit Court
President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit left by now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday 53-46. The vote to confirm Neomi Rao to the appellate court was entirely along party lines, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., not voting…. -
opinion
Senate Should Keep Pedal to the Metal on Judicial Nominees This Week
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will hold its fourth judicial confirmation hearing of the 116th Congress, this one featuring two nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. This hopefully signals that the new chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will continue a robust pace for hearings on President Donald Trump’s judicial… -
opinion
The Left Is Doubling Down on Schemes to Pack the Supreme Court
Anything the left can’t control, it aims to destroy. From campaigns to abolish the Senate to the growing movement to upend the Electoral College after Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the 2016 presidential election, progressives have few qualms about getting rid of long-standing constitutional institutions. Now they’re doubling down on their efforts to wage war on… -
news
Eric Holder: Democrats Should Consider Packing Supreme Court
Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday said Democrats should consider packing the Supreme Court when they regain political power. Holder said he would “seriously consider” adding two seats to the court if he were president, as revenge for the two seats on the court that President Donald Trump has filled since taking office. Holder wants other Democrats to follow suit…. -
opinion
Supreme Court’s 9-0 Ruling Protects Americans Against Excessive Fines
It’s a good day when all nine justices of the Supreme Court make a stand for liberty. On Wednesday, the court held unanimously that the excessive fines clause of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment applies to the states. The ruling is potentially a major win for property owners and individual citizens facing excessive fines, fees, and… -
news
Justice Ginsburg Is Back at the Supreme Court, and She’s Sending a Message
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took the bench at the Supreme Court Tuesday, the first time she has heard arguments since her treatment for lung cancer in December 2018. The justice’s presence at Tuesday’s arguments was expected—the high court’s public information office announced Friday that Ginsburg would participate in a private conference among the justices to discuss pending… -
news
Supreme Court Expedites Citizenship Question in Census Case
The Supreme Court will settle the question on whether the question of citizenship can be included in the 2020 census, bypassing an appeals court hearing. The high court announced Friday it will hear arguments in April, with a likely decision by June. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced last year the Census Bureau would add the… -
opinion
William Barr Is Our New Attorney General. Here Are 4 Things He Should Focus on Right Away
With the confirmation of William Barr as the 85th attorney general of the United States, we now have an experienced hand leading the Department of Justice. At his confirmation hearing, Barr vowed to focus on violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and protect the right to vote. But our country faces many additional challenges today, many of which… -
news
Justice Ginsburg Returns to Supreme Court After Cancer Treatment
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court Friday, concluding a two-month absence that followed her treatment for lung cancer in December 2018. The Supreme Court’s Public Information Office announced that Ginsburg will attend Friday’s private conference, where the justices make decisions about pending petitions. The court will consider several urgent matters during the… -
news
Senate Confirms William Barr as New Attorney General
The Senate confirmed William Barr as the new attorney general Thursday afternoon, returning Barr for a second tour atop the Department of Justice. The confirmation vote largely followed party lines—GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against confirmation given Barr’s views on domestic surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia,… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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,… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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…