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
4th Circuit Ducked the Real Question in Pronoun Case
A Maryland school district can order a substitute teacher to use a student’s chosen pronouns and, according to the same policy, forbid her from telling that student’s parents. Kimberly Polk sued Montgomery County Public Schools over that combination, and in January the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against her, 2-1. The panel’s reasoning… -
news
Supreme Court Deals Another Blow to Palestinian Authorities in $656 Million Case
The Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority lost again at the Supreme Court, this time in their effort to stop a settlement to pay American victims of attacks. Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday signed an order rejecting an emergency application from the Palestinian authorities to stop a $656 million judgment in favor of Americans… -
news
Blanche Secures Deal With Skeptical GOP Senators, Confirmation Vote Set
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have reached a deal with the Department of Justice, agreeing to advance acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for official confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Following weeks of negotiations and threats from the president to withdraw his nomination over the contested anti-weaponization fund, the… -
news
Issues Between Amy Acton, Progressives Get Worse
This week, Dr. Amy Acton’s team held a virtual meeting nearly a month after the Ohio Democrat gubernatorial nominee offered comments on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding state laws protecting women’s sports. As Acton told the Toledo Blade on June 30, “I do not support boys playing in girls sports. This is already settled… -
news
First Use of Alien Terrorist Removal Court Targets Woman Accused in Family’s ISIS Election Day Plot
An Afghan woman living in Texas, whose son and son-in-law were convicted of plotting an Election Day mass killing in 2024, had a public removal hearing Thursday, the first case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. The Justice Department says Nazira Haji Zada, 47, of Fort Worth, Texas, is being removed for her role in… -
news
Appeals Court Blow to Trump Sets Up Supreme Court Fight Over Immigrant Detentions
The Trump administration’s policy of detaining illegal immigrants without bond hearings until removal is likely headed to the Supreme Court, as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday ruled against the administration and added to a maze of divided rulings on the matter. When circuits split on a matter, the high court usually grants… -
news
Court Stops Michigan From ‘Harming Children’ by Forcing Transgender Double Standard, Lawyer Says
A district court judge blocked Michigan from enforcing a “conversion therapy” law, in a ruling that protects children, according to the attorney representing Catholic therapists challenging the law. “Michigan was harming children—pushing kids toward a lifetime of harmful, irreversible medical interventions by muzzling compassionate counselors who could help them,” Luke Goodrich, senior counsel at the… -
opinion
The American Bar Association’s Not-So-Separate Law School Accrediting Council
The American Bar Association president, Michelle Behnke, gave a disastrous performance at a House Oversight Committee Task Force hearing last week. She doubled down on DEI and couldn’t answer even straightforward questions. In one emperor-has-no-clothes moment, she refused to answer what her implicit biases might be—even though the ABA proclaims that everyone has them. In… -
news
TPS Is Over, It’s Time to Go Home
Springfield, Ohio, and its Haitian population have been in the news all year as the fate of individuals granted Temporary Protected Status hung in the balance. A ruling last month from the U.S. Supreme Court, however, allowed the Trump administration to end the status, which came to an end on Monday. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine offered… -
news
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Mail-in Ballot Restrictions
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow implementation nationwide of his executive order aimed at tightening rules for mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections that will decide ‌control of Congress. In a filing, the Justice Department requested that the justices put on hold a judge’s ruling preventing the… -
opinion
Facing a Lawsuit, Airbnb Finds Room for Its Principles
For a while there, Airbnb seemed bent on taking a vacation from its principles. Happily, a federal lawsuit has driven home to the company the importance of honoring its stockholders. The lawsuit has prompted Airbnb to rethink and reverse its actions from a year ago, when the company refused to include two legitimate shareholder resolutions—both filed before… -
opinion
Nigeria’s Delay in Blasphemy Case Is Major Red Flag for Religious Freedom
A young man has been sitting in prison in Nigeria for the past six years with the possibility of a death sentence over his head. His name is Yahaya Sharif-Aminu. He is a Sufi musician. The state of Kano in northern Nigeria wants to execute him for the alleged crime of sharing a handful of… -
news
Jim Jordan Refers Jack Smith for DOJ Criminal Investigation, Alleges He Misled Congress
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, made a criminal referral of former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department, alleging he misled Congress about his investigations of Donald Trump. House investigators deposed Smith behind closed doors in December, and the former prosecutor testified in a public hearing in January. According to a letter from… -
news
Congress Wants to Overturn This SCOTUS Ruling
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court protected pesticide companies, ruling that they are protected from liability even if they leave off a warning label. A new bipartisan bill hopes to change this and hold manufacturers accountable. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress on Tuesday to introduce the Americans… -
news
Virginia’s Abortion Amendment Would Strike Down Statutory Rape Laws, Warns Lawsuit Seeking to Invalidate It for Deceptive Language
Virginia Democrats have supported a “Reproductive Freedom” constitutional amendment, but critics warn that it would vacate laws against statutory rape, and a lawsuit seeks to invalidate it. “Virginia’s so-called reproductive freedom amendment goes far beyond the issue of abortion,” Josh Hetzler, executive director of the Founding Freedoms Law Center and an attorney for the nonprofits challenging… -
analysis
Will Amy Acton Lose This Democrat Candidate’s Support Over Protecting Women’s Sports?
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton called the Supreme Court’s decision on protecting women’s sports “settled law,” but many on her left disagree—and now they’re making demands. Some candidates and caucuses are taking issue with Acton’s words and are seeking to meet with the Democrat nominee. Arienne Childrey, who is transgender, is meeting with Acton on… -
news
Trump Administration USPS Wins Key Court Fight Over Mail-In Ballot Oversight
The Trump administration scored a partial court victory on election integrity in a case involving mail-in ballots and voter rolls. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday paused a lower court ruling against a U.S. Postal Service rule that conditioned delivery of mail-in ballots on… -
opinion
Supreme Court Rejects Another End Run Around the Second Amendment
Hawaii’s most recent Second Amendment defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court was both a major victory for the right to bear arms and entirely predictable. Since the court’s landmark decision four years ago in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Hawaii’s anti-gun lawmakers had been trying to accomplish what Bruen had already forbidden: preventing ordinary,… -
news
This Ohio Senator Is on a Mission to End Birthright Citizenship, With Some Help From Late Democrat Icon
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a blow to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is still looking to take action, and he’s using a late Democrat Senate icon to do it. This past week Moreno introduced a bill to eliminate birthright citizenship, citing longtime Nevada Sen…. -
news
RNC Opens New Front in Election Integrity Battle Over ‘Never Residents’ Voting in 6 States
After a victory in the battleground state of North Carolina, the Republican National Committee has pending litigation against six other states to stop U.S. citizens who never lived in those states from voting in their elections. The RNC has sued battleground states Arizona and Nevada; blue states such as Colorado, New Jersey, and Virginia; and…