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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Virginia’s Abortion Amendment Would Strike Down Statutory Rape Laws, Warns Lawsuit Seeking to Invalidate It for Deceptive Language
Virginia Democrats have supported a “Reproductive Freedom” constitutional amendment, but critics warn that it would vacate laws against statutory rape, and a lawsuit seeks to invalidate it. “Virginia’s so-called reproductive freedom amendment goes far beyond the issue of abortion,” Josh Hetzler, executive director of the Founding Freedoms Law Center and an attorney for the nonprofits challenging… -
analysis
Will Amy Acton Lose This Democrat Candidate’s Support Over Protecting Women’s Sports?
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton called the Supreme Court’s decision on protecting women’s sports “settled law,” but many on her left disagree—and now they’re making demands. Some candidates and caucuses are taking issue with Acton’s words and are seeking to meet with the Democrat nominee. Arienne Childrey, who is transgender, is meeting with Acton on… -
news
Trump Administration USPS Wins Key Court Fight Over Mail-In Ballot Oversight
The Trump administration scored a partial court victory on election integrity in a case involving mail-in ballots and voter rolls. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday paused a lower court ruling against a U.S. Postal Service rule that conditioned delivery of mail-in ballots on… -
opinion
Supreme Court Rejects Another End Run Around the Second Amendment
Hawaii’s most recent Second Amendment defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court was both a major victory for the right to bear arms and entirely predictable. Since the court’s landmark decision four years ago in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Hawaii’s anti-gun lawmakers had been trying to accomplish what Bruen had already forbidden: preventing ordinary,… -
news
This Ohio Senator Is on a Mission to End Birthright Citizenship, With Some Help From Late Democrat Icon
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a blow to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is still looking to take action, and he’s using a late Democrat Senate icon to do it. This past week Moreno introduced a bill to eliminate birthright citizenship, citing longtime Nevada Sen…. -
news
RNC Opens New Front in Election Integrity Battle Over ‘Never Residents’ Voting in 6 States
After a victory in the battleground state of North Carolina, the Republican National Committee has pending litigation against six other states to stop U.S. citizens who never lived in those states from voting in their elections. The RNC has sued battleground states Arizona and Nevada; blue states such as Colorado, New Jersey, and Virginia; and… -
analysis
Why Does Colorado Keep Losing at the Supreme Court?
Despite multiple losses at the U.S. Supreme Court, Colorado continues to try to force an LGBTQ agenda on residents, and it costs taxpayers a great deal. “There’s just double down after double down after double down,” Jonathan Scruggs, senior counsel and vice president of litigation strategy at Alliance Defending Freedom, told the Daily Signal in… -
exclusive
Hawley Investigates Meta’s Treatment of Whistleblower Who Alleged China Ties
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is calling out Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly mistreating a whistleblower through lawfare. Sarah Wynn-Williams, Meta’s former global head of public policy, testified before Congress that the company worked “hand in glove” with the Chinese Communist Party. Now, Congress is investigating and demanding answers. “Meta’s efforts… -
news
Ohio Man Among Those Indicted in UFC Plot at White House
The Department of Justice has presented the indictments for the eight suspects who allegedly plotted to attack the UFC event at the White House last month. One of the suspects, 19-year-old Tycen C. Proper, is from Danville, Ohio. The eight defendants, who also come from Missouri, Nebraska, California, Washington state, and West Virginia, face a… -
opinion
‘YOU COULD HEAR THE SOBS OF A WIDOW’: Inside Charlie Kirk’s Murder Trial
The following is an excerpt of Daily Signal Politics Editor Bradley Devlin’s interview with Ryan Helfenbein, a friend of Charlie Kirk who attended the preliminary hearings in the case against the accused assassin Tyler Robinson, for the “Signal Sitdown,” which premieres on the Daily Signal’s YouTube page at 6:30 a.m. EDT on July 16. This… -
analysis
Christian Therapist Explains the Central Problem With ‘Gender-Affirming Care,’ and Presents a Solution
Kaley Chiles, the counselor who prevailed at the Supreme Court against a Colorado law restricting therapy for unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria, told the Daily Signal that the medical sector bypasses the rightful course of treatment when it comes to transgender issues. “We’re treating this issue in some special way that we don’t treat… -
news
Susan Collins Blasts Political Attacks on SCOTUS, as Barrett, Kagan Ask Senate for Funding Boost
Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins called out the top Senate Democrat and other public officials for potentially encouraging violence against Supreme Court justices. Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, warned about heated rhetoric during a Tuesday hearing on the Supreme Court’s budget request that featured testimony from Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan…. -
news
Barrett, Kagan Warn of Growing Threats to Justices, Say Supreme Court Needs More Security
As House appropriators consider the budget for Supreme Court security and operations, Justice Amy Coney Barrett told members on Tuesday that in 2022 she had to take a bulletproof vest home due to “particularly intense” death threats. Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on… -
analysis
Are Democrats in Disarray Over Protecting Women’s Sports?
Even Amy Acton, the Democrat nominee for Ohio’s governor, acknowledges that protecting women from having to compete against men is “settled law” in the state. In doing so, she’s irked progressives. Her comments appeared in a June 30 article from The Toledo Blade, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states are allowed to protect… -
analysis
Pro-Life AG Suggests a Reason Why the Trump Admin Hasn’t Cracked Down on the Abortion Pill
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, faulted the Food and Drug Administration for failing to quickly restrict access to mifepristone, the key drug in the abortion pill regimen. “There’s obviously a political calculus that has gone on in the administration for pro-life issues,” Marshall told the Daily Signal in an interview Wednesday. He acknowledged… -
news
Justices Barrett, Kagan to Face House Grilling: What to Expect
While two Supreme Court justices are scheduled to field questions from a House panel Tuesday about the court’s budget, it’s plausible, if not likely, that members will use the opportunity to press the justices about some highly contentious cases. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will appear before members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee… -
news
Leftist Billionaire’s Bankrolling of E. Jean Carroll’s Case Against Trump Draws Ethics Complaint
The lawyer for E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, is facing scrutiny over outside funding of the case by a left-leaning billionaire. The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, filed a bar complaint with the Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State Supreme… -
analysis
British Government Rejects Travel Visa for Finnish Christian Convicted of ‘Hate Speech’ for Citing the Bible
When Päivi Räsänen, a Christian member of Finland’s Parliament who was convicted of “hate speech” for a pamphlet citing the Bible, booked flights with a layover in London, the United Kingdom rejected her visa application. Räsänen told the Daily Signal in an interview Thursday that the U.K. initially approved her application, but days before her… -
opinion
Defending America’s Founding Principles in a Divided Age
The United States nation faces threats that extend beyond the familiar divide between Democrats and Republicans. Increasingly, two ideological movements—one on the far left, one emerging on the populist right—share a willingness to undermine the principles that have long defined the American experiment. On one side stands the Democratic Socialists of America, whose influence within… -
news
Biden DOJ Relaxed Fentanyl Policy While Reviewing Whistleblower Complaint
As the Justice Department reviewed an operation that allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills onto the streets of New Mexico, the Biden administration in 2024 relaxed federal policies on seizing the deadly drug. During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department, recognizing the lethality of fentanyl, in 2019 issued stricter rules directing federal agents…