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
NPR Legal Reporter Criticizes Gorsuch for Citing the Constitution
The newest Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch, has made headlines since joining the court last spring—and not just for his written opinions. Pedantic. Boorish and juvenile. Annoying. In his colleagues’ faces. These are some of the harsh things liberal Court watchers have had to say about Gorsuch. It’s hard to square these comments with the… -
news
NY Attorney General Opens Investigation Into Weinstein Allegations
The New York attorney general announced his office will be looking into possible civil rights violations within The Weinstein Co., following a series of sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be looking to see whether the allegations against Weinstein violated women’s civil rights or reveal possible gender discrimination… -
opinion
McConnell Wants to Ditch the Blue Slip for Judicial Nominees, and He’s Right
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., supports an important step toward fixing the backlog of judicial nominations that are piling up in the Senate. McConnell told The Weekly Standard that blue slips—the practice of asking senators from a nominee’s home state for their opinion before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing—should no longer be… -
news
Congress, Courts Must Help Tame Bureaucracy, Trump’s Regulatory Chief Says
President Donald Trump’s regulatory chief said reining in the administrative state is going to require leadership from all three branches of government, but the president’s team is making progress. “The president’s agenda is working,” @Neomi_Rao says. Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order that for every single regulation adopted, an agency must drop… -
opinion
There Should Be No Religious Tests for Judicial Nominees
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the case of Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a hearing, Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois, brought up the religious beliefs… -
opinion
The Supreme Court’s Next Term Will Be One for the Books. Here’s Why.
Monday, Oct. 2 marks the start of a new Supreme Court term. While the arrival of Justice Neil Gorsuch made major headlines, the cases last term did not gain much attention. The court’s 2017-2018 term, however, promises to be one for the history books. In their first few weeks back, the justices will tackle several… -
news
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends Comments on Judicial Nominee’s Faith
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Sunday defended her controversial statements about one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. Amy Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was questioned about her Catholic faith by Feinstein at a confirmation hearing Sept. 6. “The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s a concern,” Feinstein… -
news
Judicial Crisis Network Launches Ad Against Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s ‘Religious Litmus Test’
The Judicial Crisis Network is launching ad campaigns against two Democratic senators who are blocking President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees. The two campaigns are against Sens. Al Franken, D-Minn., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Franken is refusing to return the blue slip for Justice David Stras, nominated to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of… -
news
Deputy Attorney General Says Rule of Law Is About ‘Character of the People’ Enforcing the Law
The Constitution’s 230th anniversary is Sept. 17, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says it is incumbent on the American people to help preserve the rule of law as the Founders intended. “On Constitution Day, it is appropriate to keep in mind that although the power of the federal government is vast, it is expressly… -
news
University Presidents Defend Trump Judicial Nominee Questioned About ‘Dogma’
Two presidents of prestigious educational institutions have come to the defense of a Catholic nominee for an appeals court after she was questioned by a United States senator about her faith during a Senate confirmation hearing. In two separate letters, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, and Christopher L…. -
opinion
How to Stop Democrats From Stonewalling Judicial Nominees
Oregon’s two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have announced they will seek to block the confirmation of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Ryan Bounds. Last week, the senators announced they will not return blue slips to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for Bounds, whom President Donald Trump nominated to a… -
opinion
Al Franken Obstructs Judicial Nominee Because He’s ‘in the Mold’ of Thomas and Scalia
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., seems determined to block a judicial nominee from his home state. On Tuesday, Franken announced his intent to obstruct Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras, the president’s nominee to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, by refusing to return Stras’ blue slip. Why jam up the confirmation of a well-respected state… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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…