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
With Crucial Win at the Supreme Court, Trump Administration Has Path to Security, Transparency Rules in Mail Balloting
The Supreme Court delivered a big win to the Trump administration this week that could clear the way for better election integrity across the U.S. Trump v. California, decided on Monday, cleared a major hurdle in the ongoing legal fight over President Donald Trump’s executive order “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections” issued… -
analysis
Will Supreme Court Ruling Make It Harder for Noncitizens to Vote?
The Supreme Court’s Monday decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to establish a state-by-state list of eligible voters based on a crosscheck of citizenship data, the Social Security database, and other government information. “The DHS can determine who is eligible to vote because the federal government does not want to be… -
Supreme Court Backs Trump Election Integrity Order in Mail Ballot Fight
The Supreme Court on Monday sided with President Donald Trump in a mail-in ballot case stemming from his election integrity executive order. The case is not over, but the high court allowed the federal government to continue implementing the election integrity policies while the case is on appeal. The justices decided in a 6-3 shadow… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Records Reveal Planned Parenthood’s 14-Point Post-Dobbs Strategy for State AGs to Target Pro-Lifers
A month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood issued marching orders for state attorneys general to target crisis pregnancy centers and issue abortion-friendly legal opinions. State actions after the July 12, 2022, memo suggest Democrat attorneys general followed much of the 14-point plan pushed by the nation’s largest abortion provider. On… -
news
DOJ Charges ‘Foundation’ Members in $12M Medicaid Fraud Scheme Tied to Drugs, Violence
The Justice Department announced a nine-count indictment against four New York men for an alleged $12 million Medicaid fraud conspiracy that includes racketeering charges. The alleged scheme includes charges of violence in aid of racketeering, firearms, fraud, narcotics, and money laundering offenses, the Justice Department said Thursday. The arrests come as the Trump administration ramps… -
news
DOJ: Chinese National Cast Illegal Ballot, Then Accused Another of Voter Fraud
A Chinese national allegedly voted in the 2024 election by impersonating another Chinese national and then reporting that person to authorities, according to the Justice Department. In an alleged voter fraud case with a strange twist, Yupeng Sun, 33, was charged with one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting, the… -
news
Obama Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Redirect Teen Pregnancy Funds Away From Planned Parenthood Affiliates
A Barack Obama-appointed judge partially blocked a Trump administration effort to curb Planned Parenthood funding in a teen pregnancy prevention program. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia on Wednesday also called the administration’s promotion of abstinence-only education a means to “defy social reality.” The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program funded about 50… -
news
Appeals Court Preserves Injunction Against ICE Enforcing Immigration Laws at Churches
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling preventing federal immigration officials from conducting enforcement actions at or near houses of worship. In a 2-1 ruling by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Judge Barbara Keenan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote that the government likely violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its… -
news
Supreme Court Again Rebuffs Trump in $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Case
REUTERS—Rebuffing President Donald Trump for a second time, the Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist. The justices rejected Trump’s request to reconsider their previous decision in… -
news
Year After Deadly Crash, 21 Blue States Move to Block Trump Commercial Driver’s License Data Request
Democrat attorneys general have sued to block the Trump administration from accessing records on commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Department of Transportation has stepped up enforcement of commercial driver’s licensing rules, seeking more information from states to find unqualified truck drivers, including illegal immigrants. It has threatened to withhold about $10 million in funding if… -
news
‘Teach Children What to Think’: Lawsuit Targets Nebraska Schools’ Funding Formula
Two Nebraska families sued state and local officials Thursday, arguing the state’s K-12 education funding system violates parental rights. Parents opposed to LGBTQ+ ideology in local public schools have no other cost-free option, the lawsuit argues, alleging “viewpoint discrimination” by the state and an unconstitutional condition on a public benefit. “Parents have a right to… -
news
Trump Asks Supreme Court to Allow White House Ballroom Construction to Continue
REUTERS—President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue construction of his $400 million White House ballroom after an appeals court ruled the project lacked the necessary approval from Congress. The Trump administration asked the justices to keep the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District… -
news
‘Isolated and Episodic’: Clinton-Appointed Judge Tosses Trump Lawsuit Against Harvard Over Lack of Jewish Student Protections
A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University that had alleged the school failed to protect Jewish students from harassment. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns of Massachusetts, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled the federal government failed to show an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law on Harvard’s campus after the Oct…. -
news
Trump Asks Supreme Court to Fast-Track Fight Over Mail-In Ballot Order
Solicitor General John Sauer asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to expedite review of a court order blocking President Donald Trump’s mail-in ballot policy. In June, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts, a Barack Obama appointee, blocked Trump’s mail ballot order for 23 states challenging the policy. The president’s order prevents the U.S. Postal Service… -
news
11 Charged in Decade-Long Scheme Allegedly Selling Green Cards Through Fake Marriages to Chinese Nationals
Federal prosecutors have charged 11 people with involvement in more than 1,000 fake marriages to gain legal status in the United States over the last decade. The two-count indictment alleges that some foreign nationals paid as much as $100,000 to be in the sham marriages, according to the Justice Department. The scheme was primarily for… -
exclusive
Watchdog Group Says Appeals Court Must Revisit Navarro Conviction
A conservative watchdog group called for a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling upholding the conviction of Peter Navarro, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers in both his first and second terms. The Oversight Project filed an amicus brief late Tuesday in Navarro’s appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Navarro spent… -
news
Supreme Court to Hear Case of Catholic Preschool Excluded From Colorado Program Over State’s LGBTQ Policy
The Supreme Court in November will hear the case of a Catholic school excluded from Colorado’s universal preschool program over its views on LGBTQ issues. On Tuesday, the high court released its calendar of arguments for November that includes the case of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, scheduled for Nov. 3. The calendar also… -
news
Declassified Documents Reveal Democrats’, Deep State Targeting of Sessions in Russia Probe
In the early months of President Donald Trump’s first term, when enemies of the administration clung to the since-discredited Russia collusion narrative, the FBI opened a probe called “March Toll” into then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The FBI launched the probe at the behest of two Democrat senators, one of whom resigned from office in disgrace… -
news
‘Enjoined as Unconstitutional’: How Tax Cut Bill Unraveled 92-Year-Old Gun Control Provision
A federal court struck down parts of a 92-year-old gun control law tied to a $200 tax on suppressors and certain firearms. The 1934 National Firearms Act imposed a $200 tax and required registration and approval for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns. U.S. District Judge James Hendrix, of the Northern District of Texas, on… -
news
Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s $400 Million White House Ballroom Project
REUTERS—A federal appeals court ordered President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop construction on a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority. “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House” and…