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
Supreme Court Deserves Praise for Reversing Itself on Takings Clause
Our constitutional system assumes that federal courts serve to remedy an injustice created by officials in the legislative and executive branches. Unfortunately, federal courts, even the Supreme Court, sometimes are responsible for creating an injustice. Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court did that for property owners in Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson… -
opinion
Supreme Court Misses Opportunity to Stop Congress Outsourcing Its Power
Almost a year ago, we asked, “How much authority can Congress give to the attorney general to effectively write criminal laws?” In Gundy v. United States, a plurality of the Supreme Court has given its answer: as much as Congress wants to give. The plurality opinion, which was written by Justice Elena Kagan, was joined… -
news
Justice Ginsburg Hints at Outcome of Supreme Court’s Biggest Cases
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested Friday that the Supreme Court is deeply divided over its most-watched cases, hinting that a series of 5-4 decisions are likely as the court approaches the end of its current term. Ginsburg said to the 2nd Circuit Judicial Conference the court was unlikely to achieve consensus on several high-profile matters…. -
news
Christian Florist Will Appeal to the Supreme Court in Same-Sex Wedding Dispute
A florist who refused to create floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after a Washington state court ruled Thursday that she violated the state’s civil rights law. The case presents the high court with an opportunity to decide whether conservative religious believers can use the First Amendment as… -
news
Justice Clarence Thomas Has ‘No Idea’ Where Retirement Rumors Are Coming From
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Monday he has no idea why rumors about his retirement have circulated in recent months. Speaking with private equity tycoon David Rubenstein before the Supreme Court Historical Society, Thomas seemed to say that speculation as to his possible departure is meritless. Some court-watchers have wondered if Thomas, 70, might like to… -
opinion
Clarence Thomas Shows Left’s Hypocrisy on Discrimination
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is, once again, under attack. And, once again, the attacks are from liberals who cannot tolerate Thomas’ consistent, unyielding and faithful commitment to America’s founding principles. The latest concerns Thomas’ 20-page opinion offered up in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, recently considered by the Supreme Court…. -
opinion
Supreme Court Rejects Case On Transgender Bathrooms. Here’s Why It’s Still a Huge Issue.
The Supreme Court rejected a case regarding school policy in a district which allows transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied cert to Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, a case concerning a gender identity bathroom and locker room policy at a Pennsylvania high school. In declining to… -
news
MLK’s Niece Applauds Clarence Thomas for Linking Abortion, Eugenics
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is right to call out some abortions as a form of eugenics, a niece of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. told The Daily Signal. Thomas’ concern, expressed in a Supreme Court opinion Tuesday, is not only relevant but “keeps truth, hope, and justice alive,” Alveda King said the… -
news
Kavanaugh’s DC Circuit Colleague Is Speaking Out About His Confirmation
Judge Patricia Millett, a onetime colleague of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, spoke publicly about his contentious confirmation to the Supreme Court, expressing regret for all involved while commending Kavanaugh as an excellent colleague. Millett is an Obama appointee who served on the D.C. Circuit with Kavanaugh… -
news
Amy Coney Barrett Speaks Out on Religious Tests for Judges
Judge Amy Coney Barrett spoke publicly about her contentious confirmation for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying religious views don’t impair the fulfillment of one’s official obligations. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Barrett, who is on President Donald Trump’s shortlist for the Supreme Court, about how her Catholic religious views might affect… -
news
Supreme Court Declines Review of Transgender Bathroom Case
The United States Supreme Court declined to review a case Tuesday involving a Pennsylvania school district opening up bathrooms to students of the opposite sex without informing students or parents. The Supreme Court declined to take up Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, a lawsuit that alleges the school violated students’ fundamental right to bodily privacy…. -
opinion
Problematic Women: Leave Brett Kavanaugh Alone
Months after his confirmation, the left is still talking about Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Elizabeth Slattery, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, joins us to explain former President Bill Clinton’s accusations against him, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court’s ruling dismissing claims against the justice, and if there’s any end in sight to the continued character… -
news
There’s a New Push to Review Judicial Misconduct Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh
A judicial ethics panel has been asked to review orders dismissing misconduct complaints against Justice Brett Kavanaugh relating to his emotionally charged testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The petition, from a New York attorney called Jeremy C. Bates, was sent to the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking entity of the federal… -
opinion
Snowflake Students Tried to Block Kavanaugh From Teaching. Thankfully, They Failed.
George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School hired Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to co-teach a course this summer called “Creation of the Constitution.” The course will be held 3,668 miles away, in Runnymede, England, where the Magna Carta was sealed 800 years ago. Some George Mason University students and faculty have become triggered. One… -
opinion
This Supreme Court Case Threatens the Left’s View of Group Identity, Victimhood
Oral arguments heard at the Supreme Court Tuesday were ostensibly about whether the 2020 census could include a question about citizenship. But don’t be fooled. The reason this case rocketed to the Supreme Court and has been so hotly contested is that the debate hinges, at bottom, on two starkly different visions of America. In… -
news
Supreme Court to Hear Cases Involving Firings of Gay, Transgender Employees
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear three cases centered on whether federal law against discrimination in employment applies to sexual orientation and gender identity. After hearing Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the high court will decide whether the words “because of … sex,” found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,… -
opinion
The Fight Over Trump’s Tax Returns Will End Up in the Supreme Court. Here’s Why.
Should elected officials be allowed to gain access to the federal income tax returns of American taxpayers? When President Richard Nixon tried to do this to get dirt on his political opponents he was deservedly condemned and Congress passed a law in 1976 to bar the practice. But now Democrats want to ignore that law to get… -
news
Attorney General Says Mueller Found No Collusion, but 10 Instances of Possible Obstruction
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report highlights 10 episodes that could be construed as obstruction of justice, although his investigation found no underlying conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Attorney General William Barr held a press conference Thursday morning to lay out the conclusions… -
news
3 Keys to Understanding the Attorney General’s Move to Limit ‘Catch and Release’
Attorney General William Barr has announced a new asylum policy to curb the government’s practice of catching illegal immigrants and then releasing them into the nation’s interior. The American Civil Liberties Union already has vowed to challenge the change in court even as President Donald Trump seeks to use all legal tools at his disposal… -
opinion
2 Key Cases the Supreme Court Will Hear in April
Conversations about the Supreme Court this spring have been dominated by discussion of conspiracy theories about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health, Democratic presidential hopefuls’ plans to “pack the Supreme Court,” and a manufactured “controversy” over Justice Brett Kavanaugh teaching at George Mason University’s Scalia Law School. But on Monday, the justices will begin their final…