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
Supreme Court Ruling Could Impact the Closing Weeks of High-Stakes Midterm Advertising Battle
The Supreme Court sided with the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, allowing the agency to avoid a Democrat-led challenge to its policy of extending discounted TV and radio advertising rates to political parties. “The Commission may exercise its discretion to set its own procedures and schedule for resolving such applications,” the majority said Wednesday in… -
news
Jack Smith Obtained Data on at Least 639,000 Republican Donors, Voters and Supporters, Senate Finds
Former special counsel Jack Smith and the Biden administration Justice Department obtained information on at least 639,000 Republican donors, voters and supporters, the Senate Judiciary Committee revealed Wednesday. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has led an investigation into Arctic Frost, which began as Smith’s probe of then-former President Donald Trump’s challenge to the… -
news
In One Type of ‘Blockbuster’ Case, Supreme Court Weighs 1980s Video Privacy Law in Digital Age
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on how a video rentals privacy law from the 1980s applies to the digital age. Justices on both sides expressed skepticism about how the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act, enacted in the days of VHS rentals at stores such as Blockbuster Video, applies today. The federal law, at the… -
news
Supreme Court Steps Into Trump’s DOGE Fight a Second Time
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a case on whether the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has to release extensive records of deliberations on cutting government spending. The Trump administration is challenging a lower court’s sweeping discovery order against DOGE despite a previous Supreme Court ruling to narrow the order. The administration… -
news
Arizonans to Vote on Ending Taxpayer-Funded DEI Programs
THE CENTER SQUARE—Arizonans will have a chance to put a stop to their taxpayer money being spent on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. On Nov. 3, Arizona residents will vote on Proposition 142, which would stop state money from funding DEI-related offices and programs. The proposition would prevent taxpayers from being forced to support race-based… -
exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: Montana AG Asks Supreme Court to Revive Case Against DEI Training That Allegedly Declared ‘All Caucasians’ Racist
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading 20 states in urging the Supreme Court to take up the case of Joshua Young, a former Colorado prison guard who sued the Department of Corrections over a diversity, equity, and inclusion training. “DEI training actively undermines workplace harmony, and it causes hostility, distrust,… -
news
Alito Makes Announcement About His Future
THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said that he will not step down if Democrats take back the Senate, according to a Bloomberg Law interview published Tuesday. Alito dismissed speculation that he would retire if Democrats won back the Senate after the midterm elections, which would allow President Donald Trump to appoint… -
opinion
‘So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country’
Justice Samuel A. Alito’s new book “So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country” is not a conventional judicial memoir—and that is precisely its strength. This carefully curated collection of 19 lectures and speeches, delivered between 2007 and 2025, offers something rarer than autobiography: a sustained encounter with the mind… -
news
Supreme Court Justices Cite ‘Wall of Precedent’ Against Boulder Climate Lawfare
Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Monday of Boulder County’s claims that the energy company Suncor caused the county concrete harm by contributing to global climate change in a case that could open the floodgates of climate lawfare across the country. “If Boulder’s claims are allowed to go forward, some 90,000 municipalities across the country will… -
opinion
The Pocket-Rescission Dispute Needs to Go to Court
The Trump administration has again proposed end-of-year rescissions to cancel appropriations for wasteful Washington spending. In response, the Government Accountability Office has taken its strongest stand yet in defense of the Congress’ authority to force the executive branch to imprudently spend taxpayer dollars, finding that the proposed rescissions subvert “both the constitutional process for enacting… -
news
FBI Tracked Susie Wiles Phone, Email Communications With Journalists, Lawyers, Political Advisors, New Documents Show
Former special counsel Jack Smith monitored the phone communications of Susie Wiles when she was Donald Trump’s campaign chief in 2024, newly released documents show. This included her communications with at least five journalists, 21 different defense attorneys, and several political advisers. Smith’s team obtained the information through what is called a pen register, sometimes… -
opinion
No, Justice Thomas Hasn’t Damaged the Reputation of the Supreme Court
Juan Williams calls Justice Clarence Thomas‘ place in history tragic. His argument rests on two sweeping claims: that Thomas is at the heart of a historic decline in public trust in the Supreme Court, and that he has damaged trust in black conservatives as a source of ideas about race. Those are serious accusations. They… -
news
Biden Judge Calls It ‘Constitutional Bedrock’ to Oppose Federal Ban on Noncitizen Voting
A Biden-appointed judge ruled that Congress cannot ban noncitizens from voting, striking down federal charges against an illegal alien alleged to have voted in multiple federal elections in Florida. U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida ruled that the Constitution only gives power to the states to regulate elections. Thus, he… -
news
Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in More Illegal Immigration, Religious Freedom Cases
The Supreme Court announced Thursday it will consider a case on the detention of illegal immigrants, as well as a case touching on religious liberty. In the case of Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha, justices will decide whether federal law requires the detention of illegal aliens pending their removal proceedings. The Trump administration targets illegal… -
opinion
What Could the Supreme Court Say About the Ten Commandments in Schools?
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to decide an issue that could be one of the most watched of the coming court term. In February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit lifted the injunction against a Louisiana law requiring a Ten Commandments display in public school classrooms. In April, the same… -
news
‘Creating a One-Party System’: Conservatives Warn of Consequences and Need to Counter Left’s Weaponization of Legal System
Conservatives are pushing back against the Left’s effort to discipline lawyers for the clients they represent, in what is being called “barfare,” with threats of disbarment or other actions. During a conference Wednesday near Capitol Hill on the topic, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., praised the effort to fight back. “We need smart people who have… -
opinion
Jack Smith’s Media Dragnet Gets a Pass From Legacy Press
One of the biggest government attacks on free press occurred under a presidential administration and the legacy media have collectively shrugged. Why? Because it was carried out by a Democrat administration and not President Donald Trump. It’s that simple. On Tuesday, former special counsel Jack Smith—who served under former President Joe Biden—testified before the Senate… -
news
Federal Judge Asks Pro-Transgender Lawyer About Double Standard on Cosmetic Surgery
A man who identifies as a woman sued Aetna for refusing to cover his transgender facial surgery, claiming discrimination, even though Aetna says it would not cover cosmetic procedures for a woman who suffers distress from not looking feminine enough. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit heard oral… -
news
Jack Smith Scooped Up Reporters’ Phone Data in Trump Probe: ‘Massive First Amendment Breach’
Conservative media outlets pushed back after revelations that former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigators obtained communications from nearly 50 journalists at more than a dozen media outlets on both the right and the left. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed the information Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee previously exposed that Smith and the Justice… -
news
Supreme Court Move Could Have Major Consequences for Trump Deportation Policy
The Supreme Court lifted the injunction against deporting illegal immigrants to a country other than their country of origin, known as sending them to a “third country,” and announced it will hear a case on the Trump administration’s policy. The case, D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security, is about whether the government can deport illegal…