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
2 Democrat Senators Show Hostility to Religion in Questions for Judicial Nominee
“Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?” is an unusual and inappropriate question for a senator to ask a judicial nominee. In fact, the Constitution forbids it. But that didn’t stop Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., from probing Notre Dame Law professor Amy Coney Barrett about her faith. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. D-Calif., also chided Barrett for…Tiffany Bates -
- News
Conservatives Push for Democrats to Stop Obstructing Trump Judicial Nominees
Conservatives are launching a campaign to put pressure on Democrats and counter what they view as the obstruction of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. “This is an issue that has energized the American people in a unique way last November,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, told The Daily…Rachel del Guidice -
- News
Kaepernick Makes Black History Smithsonian Before Clarence Thomas
Free agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick will be featured in a Black Lives Matter collection at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, museum curators announced this weekend. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the nation’s longest-serving black justice, remains absent from the museum. USA Today Sports reports items belonging to Kaepernick will be incorporated into…Kevin Daley -
- Opinion
In Dissent, Justices Thomas and Gorsuch Defend the Second Amendment
The Second Amendment is subject to persistent threats these days, and it didn’t receive any help from a majority of the Supreme Court last week. By a margin of 7-2, the court denied review in a gun rights case out of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Peruta v. California. The decision leaves in…John-Michael Seibler -
- Opinion
Grading Neil Gorsuch After 2 Months on the Court
Justice Neil Gorsuch closed out his first two months on the Supreme Court this week, leaving conservatives cautiously optimistic about the future direction of the court. Though he only participated in a limited number of cases this term, his commitment to textualism was evident in these early opinions. If this is a sign of what’s…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
Missouri Tried to Discriminate Against a Church for No Good Reason. How the Supreme Court Leveled the Playing Field.
In a 7-2 decision on Monday in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, the Supreme Court overturned a Missouri policy that discriminated against a church simply because of its religious character. Citing a provision in its constitution that bars aid to religious organizations, Missouri had disqualified Trinity Lutheran Church’s preschool from a competition…Emilie Kao -
- Opinion
The Supreme Court Will Review Trump’s Revised Travel Ban. Why That’s Good News for the President.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the government’s appeal of the so-called travel ban shortly after it reconvenes on Oct. 2. The court tipped its hand, indicating that it is likely to side with the administration and uphold the traditional deference that it has accorded the other branches of government when it…John G. Malcolm -
- Opinion
Supreme Court to Review Case of a Baker Told He Must Bake Gay Wedding Cake
Today was a good day for religious freedom at the Supreme Court. In a 7-2 decision, the court upheld religious liberty by saying that a state cannot exclude a church from a public program just because it’s a church. That was the big case at the court. In a less-noted move, the court also agreed…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
What This Supreme Court Ruling Means for the Washington Redskins, Other Brands Deemed ‘Offensive’
Should “offensive” brand names be allowed to get a federal trademark? The Supreme Court answered “yes” on Monday, handing a decisive win to Simon Tam and his band, The Slants. Tam had tried to register a trademark for his band’s name, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied his application, citing a provision of…Elizabeth Slattery -
- Opinion
2 Cases Threaten to Shut Down Public Prayer. Why the Supreme Court May Need to Act.
Two federal appeals courts are considering whether elected leaders throughout the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions must abandon the 200-year-old practice of opening local meetings with an invocation. Both cases could end up before the Supreme Court by Christmas time. In one case, a self-described pagan sued the board of commissioners of Jackson County, Michigan, arguing…Ken Klukowski -
- Opinion
I’m an Attorney General Asking Supreme Court to Uphold Trump’s Travel Ban. Here’s Why.
On Tuesday, I filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily pausing the entry of foreign nationals from six terror-prone counties. Supreme Court review is needed because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit recently ruled against the valid executive order. I am leading a multistate…Ken Paxton -
- Opinion
Terror Has Hit London Again. Why US Courts Should Let Government Do Its Job.
A new terror strike in London has renewed the world’s focus on transnational Islamist terrorism, rekindling the old debate over how best to fight it. The debate is understandable, but it comes far too late. It has been nearly 16 years since the 9/11 attacks, and ongoing terrorist activity has fit a predictable pattern—as has the U.S. response. The…James Carafano -
- News
Judicial Watch Sues State Department, USAID for Documents on Funding to Soros’ Foreign Campaigns
Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development for records on funding awarded to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation-Albania, the conservative nonprofit watchdog announced Wednesday. The suit was filed May 26 after both government agencies failed to respond to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act requests. The…Ethan Barton -
- Opinion
North Carolina Strikes Out a Fifth Time at the Supreme Court Over Redistricting
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the latest redistricting plan from North Carolina on Monday, holding that the state Legislature had impermissibly used race in the redistricting process for two congressional districts. The decision in Cooper v. Harris was confusing and did not clarify what states can and can’t do to comply with the Voting…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Judges Who Fret Over Trump’s Motives Are Ignoring US Judicial History
President Donald Trump’s revised executive order on immigration is back in court, and therefore back in the news. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the order’s constitutionality. Opponents of the order claim that it violates the Establishment Clause by setting up a ban on Muslim…Carson Holloway -
- News
Lawmakers Ask Attorney General to Take Second Look at Lerner’s Case
Congressmen are asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to re-examine the case of IRS division chief Lois Lerner. “We believe that she targeted people based on their political philosophy, which is a crime, and secondly, we believe that she has lied to the inspector general when that was being investigated,” Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., told The…Paul Runko -
- News
Younger Judicial Nominees Give Trump Chance for Legacy in Courts
President Donald Trump will begin to leave his mark on the lower courts of the federal judiciary with 10 nominees named Monday, many of them judges still in their 40s. “The president followed the principles that were used to guide that list to select the additional eight individuals,” @PressSec says. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday,…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
In His First Criminal Cases, Neil Gorsuch Already Mirroring Scalia
It is only Neil M. Gorsuch’s first month as an associate justice on the Supreme Court, but he is already showing just how similar his judicial philosophy is to that of his predecessor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. In several difficult criminal law cases, Gorsuch has asked sharp questions from the bench and cast one…John-Michael Seibler -
- Opinion
Trump’s Gorsuch Success Paves Way for Nation Governed by Lawmakers, Not Judges
Long after Donald Trump has left the White House, Justice Neil Gorsuch will likely still be at the Supreme Court. Once it didn’t look like it would happen this way. And it’s to the enormous credit of the Trump White House—and the Trump campaign, which relentlessly focused on the Supreme Court—that it did happen. Of…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
Why We Have Mitch McConnell to Thank for Justice Neil Gorsuch
It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day for a Rose Garden ceremony to swear in Neil Gorsuch as the newest associate justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. And one decision, made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just over a year ago, is the reason it was all possible. Not guaranteed, but possible. When…Genevieve Wood