Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
-
news
Here Are the 9 ‘Most Unfair’ Courts for Civil Lawsuits
In nine courts around the country, trial lawyers and judges work together in extracting large sums of money from people who may not deserve it, according to a new report. By taking advantage of tort laws, the ease with which civil justice cases are tried in these “judicial hellholes” can lead to higher costs of… -
news
Ohio Attorney General Talks Allegations That Planned Parenthood Disposed of Aborted Babies in Landfills
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine discussed on Fox News Tuesday his office’s allegation that Planned Parenthood has disposed of aborted babies in landfills, which has prompted a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood. Asked to respond to Planned Parenthood’s statement that the allegations were “flat-out false,” DeWine said, “It’s rather strange, because Planned Parenthood’s own lawyers told… -
opinion
What the Constitution Tells Us About How Senators Should Consider Obama’s Judicial Nominees
What exactly is the Senate’s role of “Advice and Consent” when it comes to the nominations made by a president? It’s a topic of perpetual debate in Washington. One wrong-headed argument holds the role to be quite modest: Senators should defer to a president’s choices except in extreme circumstances. That position is advanced far too often by… -
opinion
Will the Illinois Supreme Court Set Chicago’s Pension Apocalypse in Stone?
Nov. 17—that’s the date set for the Illinois State Supreme Court to hear oral arguments regarding a 2014 deal to overhaul the city of Chicago’s pension plans. It’s a golden opportunity for the court to clarify or—better yet—overturn its misguided decision earlier this year, which invalidated the 2013 statewide pension reforms. Let’s hope the court… -
news
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Alabama From Defunding Planned Parenthood
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Alabama from terminating Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. Gov. Robert Bentley, R-Ala., ordered that the state end its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood after the Center for Medical Progress released a series of undercover videos that raised allegations that the organization is trafficking the body… -
news
Amid Ongoing Legal Battle, Savannah to Vote on Requirement That Tour Guides Pass Test
Under pressure from a federal lawsuit, Savannah, Ga., may bow out of an ongoing legal battle Thursday that would dismantle the city’s tour guide regulations and allow anyone to speak to willing customers about the city’s rich history. The Savannah City Council is voting this afternoon to repeal its decades-old ordinance that bars tour guides… -
news
Senator Reveals Full Scope of Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Judicial Confirmation Crisis
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pushing back on Democratic charges that the GOP-led Senate has dropped the ball on judicial confirmations under President Barack Obama. Grassley took to the Senate floor Monday after his colleagues confirmed the 314th judicial nominee since the president took office, noting that by this time in 2007, under… -
opinion
Why Michigan’s Attorney General Has Backed Forfeiture Reform
Civil forfeiture reformers in Michigan just gained an unlikely but welcome ally: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. To date, the forfeiture debate in virtually every state has been characterized by a stiff divide between reformers demanding change and a law enforcement establishment implacably opposed to it. Schuette’s endorsement of reform legislation seems to be breaking… -
news
Disapproval Rating of Supreme Court Reaches New High
Disapproval rates of the high court are rising, according to a new Gallup poll. The poll, released Friday, shows a 50-percent disapproval rating of the Supreme Court. Underlying the disapproval rating is a wide partisan gap. Most of those who disapprove of the Supreme Court’s performance are Republican,… -
news
Two Top Litigators Preview Upcoming Supreme Court Cases
The new term for the Supreme Court is gearing up to begin on Oct. 5. Top Supreme Court litigators Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general, and Lisa Blatt, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, spoke on Tuesday at The Heritage Foundation. Clement and Blatt, who have collectively argued more than 100 cases before the… -
opinion
Pa. Democrat Attorney General Has License Suspended
In a historic move, all five justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have voted to temporarily suspend the law license of the state’s attorney general, Kathleen Kane, based on the recommendation of the court’s 13-member disciplinary board. This leaves the office of the state attorney general in limbo, since Pennsylvania’s constitution requires that the attorney… -
opinion
5 Cases to Watch in the Supreme Court’s Next Term
The Supreme Court’s last term was one for the history books, with high-profile cases involving Obamacare and gay marriage. The next term may not attract the same level of attention from the media and general public, but the justices will consider a number of important issues. Voting rights, public employee unions, and racial preferences in… -
news
How the Supreme Court’s ‘One Person, One Vote’ Case Could Boost Republican Clout
The Supreme Court will trek into a redistricting case this fall that will settle the contested meaning of the “one person, one vote” principle that has shaped American elections for over half a century. At hand is whether electoral districts should continue to be drawn using a state’s total population, which is the current precedent,… -
news
What’s Next for the Marriage Debate After Supreme Court Ruling
Far from settling the marriage debate, the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges raised more questions, according to four participants in a panel discussion Tuesday at The Heritage Foundation. Regardless of their views on same-sex marriage, the panelists said that the majority’s opinion in the Obergefell ruling is unclear, and fails to provide accommodation for… -
opinion
Federal Judge Blocks EPA and Corps’ Water Rule From Going into Effect
On Aug. 27, 2015, a federal district judge in North Dakota issued an order delaying the effective date of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s and the Army Corps of Engineers’ rule defining what waters they can regulate under the Clean Water Act. According to a press release from the North Dakota attorney general’s office: In today’s order, Judge Erickson agreed that… -
news
County Clerk Appeals Federal Judge’s Gay Marriage Mandate
Lawyers for a county clerk in Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples appealed a federal judge’s order that she do so, asking that the clerk not have to comply meanwhile. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis so far has not obeyed the order of U.S. District Judge David Bunning that she resume issuing… -
news
Christian Judge’s Objection Prompts Ohio Supreme Court’s Board to Tell All Judges to Perform Gay Marriages
A Toledo judge who cited his religious faith in declining to perform same-sex marriages has agreed to follow an advisory body’s decision that he—and all judges in Ohio—must do so to remain impartial. “I will abide by that opinion. In other words, I will perform same-sex marriages if requested,” Judge C. Allen McConnell told an… -
opinion
4 Reasons We Must Protect Freedom for Everyone After Supreme Court’s Marriage Ruling
The Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage has left many concerned about protecting freedom for everyone who believes that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Among them are law professors Richard W. Garnett, John D. Inazu and Michael W. McConnell. In a characteristically thoughtful essay at Christianity Today, they argue that post-Obergefell,… -
news
How States Are Using the Courts to Fight Police Taking People’s Money and Property
From coast to coast, states are tackling legislation that would protect property owners from abuses of a system that has become known as policing for profit. Some of the states have seen success with that strategy. But opponents of the tool known as civil asset forfeiture are also taking their battles to federal courtrooms. Last… -
opinion
How Supreme Court’s Understanding of ‘Liberty’ in Gay Marriage Case Could Have Repercussions
Justice Samuel Alito joined Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol for a 90-minute conversation about life, baseball and a few recent Supreme Court decisions. Alito expressed concern about what “liberty” means following the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which prohibits the deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process…