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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news
Florist Hopes Supreme Court Will Affirm Her Right to Turn Down Order for Gay Wedding
A Christian legal group that specializes in religious liberty has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the case of a florist who declined to provide flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding. In June, the Washington state Supreme Court again ruled against Barronelle Stutzman, a businesswoman and great-grandmother who has said her faith did not allow… -
news
Democrat Senator Criticizes ‘Big Donor Takeover of the Federal Courts’
Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse defended a legal brief he filed with the Supreme Court which warned the justices that a ruling expanding gun rights could inflame the liberal push for court-packing. In a new opinion column in The Washington Post, Whitehouse accused “conservative media” of distorting his position, under a headline that styled the high… -
news
Lindsey Graham Urges Attorney General to Declassify 9 Categories of Information From FISA Abuse Probe
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is calling on Attorney General William Barr to declassify and publicize nine categories of information from the inspector general’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuse investigation. The documents, if released, would shed light on the FBI’s assessment of the Steele dossier, as well as information related to confidential human… -
news
This Nomination Is the Next Big Battleground for the Federal Courts
Steven Menashi’s nomination for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest touchstone in the judicial confirmation wars. Liberal commentators and activist groups are accusing Menashi of advancing extremist positions in the Trump administration and as an academic, while his conservative supporters say Democrats are warping his views. The 2nd Circuit is the… -
opinion
The Media’s Latest Smear of a Trump Judicial Nominee
Left-wing opponents of an impartial and independent judiciary have picked another target: appeals court nominee Steven Menashi. It’s one thing to be honest about a nominee’s record, but disagree about whether he belongs on the bench. The attacks begun on Menashi, however, amount to nothing more than dishonest smears. Menashi, whose Jewish family came to… -
opinion
The Senate Ups Judicial Confirmations Despite Democrats’ Obstruction
The Senate adjourned for the August recess last week, but not before confirming another 13 judges to the U.S. District Court. Now is a good time to evaluate what the Senate has accomplished with respect to President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. The Heritage Foundation’s Judicial Appointment Tracker shows some of the good news, as well… -
news
House Democrats Seek Kavanaugh Documents From Bush Years
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee asked the National Archives Tuesday to release documents from Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s service in the George W. Bush White House. The request tracks Democratic promises to scrutinize Kavanaugh even after his confirmation to the Supreme Court. “The Senate Judiciary Committee received only a small fraction of Justice Kavanaugh’s White House… -
opinion
When the Supreme Court Is Right to Overturn Precedent
Supreme Court justices need a healthy respect for past precedents. But sometimes, precedent is so bad it simply has to be overturned. The court did just that last month in the case of Knick v. Township of Scott. The court delivered a victory for champions of property rights by overturning a 1985 precedent that had… -
news
Fact Check: Does Trump Have the Most Successful Judicial Nomination Record Since George Washington?
President Donald Trump has had what many would consider a successful record on judicial appointments—and has repeatedly cast that success in historical terms. “We have many appeals court judges—many—that we’ll have appointed. The courts are a whole different thing,” Trump told a largely teenage audience gathered Tuesday in Washington, before giving them a quiz. “I… -
news
Judicial Watchdog Submits Congressional Ethics Complaint Against Rep. Omar for Potential Perjury, Fraud
Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a complaint with the House of Representatives’ ethics office asking for an investigation into possible crimes committed by Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. The possible crimes include “perjury, immigration fraud, marriage fraud, state and federal tax fraud, and federal student loan fraud,” according to the complaint filed Tuesday by… -
opinion
The True, Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Kavanaugh Confirmation
Did the confirmation battle of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh help or hurt the #MeToo movement? How did the mainstream media miss so many red flags regarding his multiple accusers? And what was the horrific media storm like for the Kavanaugh family? Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino, authors of the best-selling new book “Justice on… -
news
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens Dies at 99
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the war hero and Republican corporate lawyer who became the leader of the court’s liberal wing, died Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 99. The Supreme Court’s public information office said Stevens died from complications of a stroke suffered earlier in the day. “A son of… -
opinion
The Moment Kavanaugh’s Foes Overplayed Their Hand
At 7:33 p.m., a lawyer named Michael Avenatti tweeted: I represent a woman with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. We will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony to the committee and will likewise be demanding that Judge and others be subpoenaed to testify. The nomination must be withdrawn. Avenatti, who had… -
news
A Year After the Supreme Court Rules Against Unions, What’s Changed
Pick a state, any state where rank-and-file public employees differ with the political agenda of their union leadership, and they can make a clean break from the union if they choose. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that nonunion government workers can’t be compelled to pay dues or other fees to support a union…. -
news
New Book on Kavanaugh Confirmation Holds Troubling Allegations Against Christine Blasey Ford
A forthcoming book on Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court relays incendiary allegations about Christine Blasey Ford, excerpts obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation show. In “Justice on Trial” authors Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino say unnamed peers accused Ford of drinking to excess and accosting boys with some regularity as a… -
opinion
‘Rotating’ Supreme Court Justices Would Be Unconstitutional
Efforts to turn judges from impartial umpires into political operatives confirm the axiom that those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. The Declaration of Independence lists actions by King George III that justified separating from Great Britain. The king, for example, had “made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the… -
news
The Supreme Court Announces It Will Hear DACA Case
The Supreme Court will decide whether President Donald Trump can rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during its next term, the justices announced Friday. DACA is an Obama-era amnesty initiative that extends temporary legal status to 700,000 foreign nationals who came to the U.S. as children. The Department of Homeland Security first took… -
opinion
Why the Supreme Court Got It Right on Gerrymandering
In a much-awaited decision, the Supreme Court held on Thursday in a 5-4 decision that partisan gerrymandering is a political question beyond the reach of the federal courts. This should come as no surprise, since it’s the same conclusion the court reached the last time this issue was before it in 2004 in a case… -
news
New Supreme Court Ruling May Start Checking Power of Federal Bureaucrats
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated ruling in Kisor v. Wilkie, a case challenging judicial deference to administrative agencies’ interpretation of their own regulations. While all nine members of the court agreed that the lower court was wrong to reflexively defer to the agency in this case, a majority was unwilling to… -
news
In Gerrymandering Case, Supreme Court Rules It’s a Matter for Lawmakers, Not Judges
In a new decision, the Supreme Court determined partisan gerrymandering disputes are a political question, not something federal courts should be deciding. In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the high court decided in a pair of cases regarding gerrymandering—which is the practice of state legislatures drawing up districts for congressional and state legislative seats to benefit…