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
Massachusetts Supreme Court Says It’s Perfectly Legitimate for Black Men to Flee Police
Has it really come to this? On the heels of dramatic disagreement between the two major party presidential candidates about how to react to ongoing tension between the police and the African-American community, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has unanimously concluded that a black man fleeing from a police officer investigating criminal activity is… -
news
What’s at Stake in the Next Supreme Court Term
The next Supreme Court term is beginning Oct. 3—and there’s plenty of contentious issues on the docket for the eight justices to rule on. “The cases this term may be hard-pressed to match the excitement and media flurry that accompanied highly anticipated rulings in recent years, such as cases involving same-sex marriage, immigration, abortion, and… -
news
7 Weeks Before Election, Republicans Help Advance Another Obama Judicial Nominee
As President Barack Obama’s time in office nears its end, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced another one of his judicial nominees toward a lifetime post. She may not get to the finish line, though. While the Senate has entered that part of the political calendar when confirmations traditionally halt, the Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted… -
opinion
How Obama and GOP Lawmakers Gave Liberals Control of the Courts
Liberals have a plan to enact their radical agenda. The problem is that it bypasses Congress and voters. Here is why their strategy to pack the courts with activist judges could be one of the biggest threats to your liberties. -
news
How Liberal Judges Took Control of 70% of US Appeals Courts
On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform the United States of America. After nearly eight years as president, he has delivered on one front by reshaping the federal judiciary. That revolution has been comprehensive, dramatic, and under the radar. When Obama entered the Oval Office, liberal judges controlled just one… -
news
How the GOP Senate Is Boosting Obama’s Judicial Legacy
Republican senators consistently accuse President Barack Obama of refusing to follow the law and exceeding his constitutional powers. Yet they’ve been unwilling to draw the line when it comes to giving Obama’s judicial nominees lifetime appointments to the federal bench. So far in 2016, the Republican-led Senate has confirmed nine Obama judges. And that number… -
opinion
How Scalia’s Death Altered the Supreme Court’s Term
Last week, the Supreme Court concluded its 2015-16 term, and it’s safe to say there were several disappointments for conservatives. The sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February led to deadlocks and compromises in some of the biggest cases of the term, much to the chagrin of conservatives. Consider five of the biggest cases: 1. Fisher… -
news
25 Years Later, How Clarence Thomas Has Transformed the Supreme Court
When the Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in the fall of 1991, he was still new to the flowing black robes that cloak federal magistrates. A rookie justice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Thomas had served as a judge only since March 1990. Still raw from a… -
news
A House Freshman Seeks to Take Power From Executive Branch, Give It to Courts
He’s only a freshman, but Rep. John Ratcliffe says he already is pursuing the “most important solution to a problem” that he ever will during his time in Congress. Ratcliffe, 50, a Texas Republican who spent a portion of his career prosecuting suspected terrorists, has chosen to make his name in Congress working on an… -
opinion
Supreme Court Upholds Race-Based Discrimination in College Admissions
The Supreme Court issued its disappointing decision in Abigail Fisher’s case on Thursday against the University of Texas at Austin. In an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy, four members of the court ruled that the university’s race-conscious admissions program does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito… -
opinion
Supreme Court Says No to Puerto Rico’s Bankruptcy Law
In a 5-2 ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Puerto Rico cannot create its own bankruptcy law because the Federal Bankruptcy Code preempts it. Facing a financial and economic crisis, Puerto Rico passed a law that would have allowed it to subject its public utilities to a Chapter 9 bankruptcy-like process. While states… -
news
Senate Confirms Obama Judicial Nominee Opposed by Maryland Police Unions
The Senate confirmed Paula Xinis for a federal judgeship in Maryland by a vote of 53-34, over the protests of major state police unions and outside conservative groups. Xinis, a partner and senior trial attorney at the Baltimore law firm representing the family of Freddie Gray, will serve in what is in effect a lifetime… -
news
14 Quotes From Clarence Thomas’ Hillsdale Commencement Speech
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas addressed the 2016 graduating class at Hillsdale College in Michigan, telling the graduates to lead by example and to not hide their faith and beliefs. Thomas, 67, appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush, gave the commencement address to 353 Hillsdale graduates. Here are 15… -
opinion
New Chicago Schools Bathroom Policy Courts Controversy
Chicago Public Schools announced on Monday that students and staff must be granted unfettered access to intimate school facilities based on their chosen gender identity. Because both transgender and non-transgender students have valid interests at stake, accommodation with private facilities is the sensitive and sensible solution, but advocates on the left say that’s discrimination. Put… -
opinion
Alaskan Hunter Triumphs Over Federal Agency in Supreme Court, for Now
For more than 15 years, John Sturgeon used a hovercraft to reach moose-hunting grounds in Alaska without any incident or objection. Then, one day in 2007, two National Park Service rangers told Sturgeon that he was on federal property and hovercraft were illegal. What followed was nine years of litigation. Sturgeon lost his case in the… -
opinion
Supreme Court Got It Wrong: Noncitizens Shouldn’t Be Counted
In a loss for voters, the Supreme Court has ruled unanimously against two residents of Texas who had argued that the Texas legislature diluted their votes when it used total population to redraw state Senate districts. In Evenwel v. Abbott, the Supreme Court allowed states to use total population in redrawing district lines, even though… -
news
Illinois Town Among New Fronts on Nation’s Right-to-Work Map as Supreme Court Deadlocks
Despite the lack of a definitive ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of mandatory union dues, workers across the nation have ample opportunity to challenge why they’re forced to pay for political activism they don’t support. That’s clear from a state-by-state map that measures the current level of worker freedom in both… -
opinion
Supreme Court Hands Down Big Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Win
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court delivered a win for the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in Luis v. United States. Five justices—Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote a plurality opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote a separate concurring opinion—sided with challenger… -
opinion
Supreme Court Request Gives Little Sisters Cause for Hope
In an order Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court asked the petitioners and Obama administration to file supplemental briefs in the consolidated challenge to Obamacare’s requirement that nonprofit employers provide employee health insurance coverage that includes potentially life-ending drugs and devices. Many employers, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, and religious… -
opinion
The Next Supreme Court Justice
It now seems highly likely that the next president of the United States will have the opportunity to nominate someone to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the sudden passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. That may not be the only vacancy the president will have the opportunity to fill. By the…