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
EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Action Scorecard Reveals Which Lawmakers Are Fighting for Conservative Values
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Heritage Action has released its Heritage Action Scorecard, a database that puts members of Congress’ voting records up against conservative priorities. The scorecard grades members of Congress by analyzing the members’ voting record on core issues for the conservative agenda that the American people voted for in the 2024 presidential election… -
news
Supreme Court Rules 8-1 in Massive Free Speech Case
The Supreme Court held in an 8-1 ruling on Tuesday that a Colorado ban on “conversion therapy” for counselors unlawfully regulates speech and is viewpoint discrimination. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a President Donald Trump appointee, issued the majority opinion. Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor—both appointees of President Barack Obama—issued concurring opinions. Only Justice Ketanji Brown… -
news
4 Key Election Law Battles Hitting Court Rooms During 2026 Midterms
After arguments in a major Supreme Court case regarding mail-in ballots, the Republican National Committee is still involved in 120 election integrity lawsuits across 30 states. Going into the midterm elections, the four priority areas for the committee are voter ID, securing mail-in voting, stopping noncitizens from voting, and holding states accountable for their failures… -
news
Sharia Free America Caucus Responds to CAIR Designating It an ‘Anti-Muslim Hate Group’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which bills itself as America’s premier Muslim civil rights group, has designated the Sharia Free America Caucus an “anti-Muslim hate group,” in what one Muslim reformer calls the “American equivalent of a blasphemy law.” “Labeling a congressional caucus that represents millions of Americans a ‘hate group’ simply for addressing the… -
opinion
NAACP’s Latest Hire Reveals the Left’s Plan to Keep Weaponizing Civil Rights Law Against Conservatives
After a yearslong legal battle, the Supreme Court vindicated a Colorado Christian baker hounded by a “Civil Rights Commission” for the sin of refusing to craft a custom cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding. A woman by the name of Kristen Clarke found that ruling “devastating.” Clarke, who would go on to lead the Justice… -
opinion
Supreme Court Could Decide If ‘Election Day’ Lasts One Day
Under our Constitution, state legislatures retain primary authority for setting the rules and procedures governing elections—even federal ones. This is true for both congressional and presidential elections. But Congress can step in and alter those default state-level rules. And it has chosen to do so in several important ways. For example, it has fixed by… -
news
Even Amid Lawsuit, Democrat AG Won’t Swear Off Using Far-Left ‘Hate Map’ That Allegedly Inspired Terrorist Attack
Michigan’s Democrat attorney general cited the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate map” when announcing a “hate-crimes unit” in 2019, and after one of the conservative groups on the map sued, the AG’s office won’t say whether it will refuse to cite the SPLC in the future. The American Freedom Law Center, a Judeo-Christian public interest… -
news
Supreme Court Backs Police Immunity in Protest Case
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a Vermont police officer is entitled to qualified immunity after a protester at the state Capitol sued him for an injury in a case that stretches back more than a decade. Qualified immunity protects law enforcement officers from litigation if they are acting in the line of duty,… -
news
Justices Skeptical of Counting Late-Arriving Ballots
The Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday seemed particularly skeptical of arguments by the state of Mississippi that mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day should still be counted. Mississippi counts ballots that arrive up to five days after Election Day. At least 17 states and the District of Columbia count ballots that arrive late, with… -
news
Madness on the Hill: Lawmakers Share March Madness Brackets
As if Capitol Hill needed any more madness, the NCAA backetball tournament is upon us. While lawmakers consider the SAVE America Act, seek an end to the Department of Homeland Security shut down, and consider more war funding, they’re keeping one eye on March Madness. Possibly the most notable win so far in the tournament was… -
news
9-0: Supreme Court Sides With Street Preacher’s Right to Sue Over City’s Speech Restriction
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision on Friday, allowed a Christian pastor to proceed with his lawsuit against a Mississippi city’s law restricting where he could preach. In the case of Olivier v. City of Brandon, Justice Elena Kagan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote for the court in the case involving free speech and religious… -
news
‘Very Personal’: GOP Pushing for Dalilah’s Law Vote on House Floor Soon
At 5 years old, Dalilah Coleman suffered life-altering injuries at the hands of a reckless illegal immigrant truck driver. The illegal immigrant driver’s 18-wheeler blew a stop sign, crashed into the Coleman family’s car, and left Dalilah, now 7 years old, with permanent brain damage. Tragic stories like Dalilah’s have become an all-too-common occurrence, and it’s kicked Republicans… -
news
Immigrant Restaurant Owners Targeted After Serving Free Meals to Law Enforcement
When “ICE Out” protests spread across Arizona in recent months, one restaurant found itself at the center of the ICE storm. At Sammy’s Mexican Grill, owners Jorge and Betty Rivas—immigrants who have lived the American dream—chose to stay open and continue their five-year tradition of serving free meals to all law enforcement officers. The Rivas’… -
news
Fairfax County Leaders Push Back as Lawmakers Advance Tysons Casino Bill
Virginia lawmakers recently passed a bill that would make Fairfax County, outside Washington, D.C., eligible to host a casino—a move county leaders say undermines local decision-making. The bill was first introduced in 2023 by state Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, and has since been supported by state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. After years of debate and repeated stalling, lawmakers pushed the… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers Mull Push to Strip Democratic Socialists of America of Nonprofit Status
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., put it succinctly to The Daily Signal when he said, “Communists are going to [be] communist.” Fine is one of several lawmakers on the federal and state level considering an effort to strip the Democratic Socialists of America of its tax-exempt nonprofit status after the DSA announced last week that it… -
news
Will Congress Help States Challenge SCOTUS Ruling That Gives Illegal Immigrants Massive Benefits?
A House subcommittee is exploring ways to challenge a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that radically expanded illegal aliens’ access to state benefits. In Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that barred illegal immigrant children from enrolling in public schools and argued these illegal immigrants were entitled to that benefit, and… -
news
Democrat-Passed Law May Have Allowed Shooter to Enter Old Dominion Undetected
A shooting on Old Dominion University’s campus has left Americans asking how someone who pled guilty to helping ISIS was able to enroll at an American university. The unsettling answer is that Virginia Democrats passed a law forbidding public colleges from asking applicants about their criminal history. Republicans in Washington are now looking to take… -
news
Could SCOTUS Rule to Hold Those Who Hire Illegal Immigrant Truck Drivers Accountable?
As President Donald Trump and Congress look to hold illegal immigrant truckers accountable, a future United States Supreme Court decision could modify a federal law that could allow victims of commercial vehicle crashes to hold those responsible for hiring the driver behind the crash accountable. The ruling, which is expected before June, could overturn a… -
news
SCOTUS Order on California Law to ‘Keep Secrets From Parents’ a Positive Sign for Parental Rights, Heritage Scholar Says
Is a recent ruling from the Supreme Court “a sign of good things to come” for parents? Corey DeAngelis, The Heritage Foundation’s new research fellow at the Center for Education Policy, believes so. On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily prevented the state of California from blocking school policies that would require telling parents if their… -
opinion
Supreme Court Ruling Is Welcome News for Immigration Judges
Imagine that you’re one of the 520 or so immigration judges trying to slog through the estimated 3.3 million pending immigration cases, many of which are asylum cases. Unlike other judges, you don’t have contempt authority to hold attorneys accountable. And most denial of asylum decisions you make get appealed to the Board of Immigration…