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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analysis
The Raised Eyebrow and the Closed Account
Summary In Washington, power is most potent when it’s least visible. A statute can be read, a regulation challenged, an order defied in court. But a regulator’s arched eyebrow leaves no paper trail, invites no judicial review, and is, for a bank that must face the same examiners year after year, every bit as persuasive… -
opinion
Why George Washington Would Deport Mahmoud Khalil
Summary Mahmoud Khalil wants to take the case against his deportation all the way to the Supreme Court—and if the justices accept it, they will be deciding one of the oldest and most controversial questions in American politics, a dispute more than 200 years old. Khalil is not an American: He’s a Syrian-born Palestinian, but… -
opinion
November’s Stark Choice: 2 Visions for Justice and the Rule of Law
Summary Democrats, suffering from denial and delusion, tend to think of themselves as the guardians of the rule of law. Back in reality, nothing could be further from the case. Consider Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who fancies herself a rule-of-law-championing model immigrant despite the fact that she literally conceded to her fellow Somalis that she… -
news
8-1 Supreme Court Decision Upends Student ID Fight in Battleground Days Before Key Senate Election
The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, allowed New Hampshire to block student IDs as a valid form of voter identification. In an unsigned order released Thursday, the justices paused Oct. 2 and Oct. 5 orders by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante, a George W. Bush appointee, that prevented the state from enforcing its restrictions… -
opinion
What Justice Elena Kagan Gets Wrong About Democracy
Much of the Left seems intent on defining “democracy” as bureaucratic administration, but many of the changes to the bureaucracy they condemn actually empower the people. Take Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, for instance. She suggested that the majority decisions of her conservative colleagues are undermining American democracy, citing cases involving gerrymandering, money in politics,… -
exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: Trump Is Reversing Biden Policies. Why Is His Justice Department Still Defending Them?
FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL—Federal agencies are continuing to defend some legal positions of the Biden administration, according to an analysis by two conservative groups. Leaders of the groups Power the Future and Defend Forgotten America sent a letter Tuesday to President Donald Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche calling for a comprehensive review of lawsuits… -
breaking
Supreme Court Rules on Trump Admin Policy Blocking Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Prisoners
The Supreme Court Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to block a lower court order preventing the Bureau of Prisons from denying previously prescribed transgender procedures to prison inmates. The court denied the stay in an unsigned order, noting that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have granted the stay. The Bureau of Prisons… -
opinion
An Immigration Ruling With Teeth—If It Holds Up
Sometimes a consequential immigration decision turns not on a new act of Congress or a ruling by the Supreme Court, but on whether an agency finally gives existing statutory language its full effect. That is the promise of Matter of A-V-O-, a Sept. 17 ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals. The board concluded that… -
exclusive
Green Group Already Under Scrutiny Honors Leader of Foundation That Gave Millions to China-Linked Entities
An environmental group facing scrutiny for its ties to China honored a leader of a major left-leaning grantmaking foundation that has given millions of dollars to China-connected entities. The Environmental Law Institute on Tuesday honored Julie Packard, vice chair of the board of trustees for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, with its 2026 Environmental… -
news
Appeals Court Deals Trump Blow in Immigration Fight Over Churches
A federal court dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda near houses of worship, allowing objecting religious groups to sue. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that religious organizations have standing to sue over the policy of allowing some immigration enforcement at churches and other religious institutions, in a case… -
analysis
Will the Supreme Court Find Room at the Grotto?Â
On Oct. 1, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, Inc. v. Frederic and answer an important question: Does a regulation prohibiting a church from building a religious structure on its own property violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act?  The answer is… -
news
Supreme Court Rejects Accused 9/11 Mastermind’s Bid to Dodge Death Penalty
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will again face the potential for the death penalty after the Supreme Court denied his appeal Monday. Justices rejected Mohammed’s bid to reinstate a plea agreement that allowed him and two co-defendants who helped plot the attack to avoid the death penalty. Mohammed and… -
news
Supreme Court Takes Up Major New Battle Over Race in School Admissions
The Supreme Court will hear another case on race-based admissions after previously curbing the practice in higher education. The high court on Monday announced it will take up the case of Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, concerning a Maryland county’s lottery admissions policy to increase racial diversity at certain magnet… -
opinion
If These Aren’t Excessive Fines, What Are?Â
Imagine getting a bill from your local government for $900,000 because they see a greenhouse on your property and just assume you’re growing marijuana without a permit. Imagine government demanding $400,000 because you didn’t know to fill out a single-page form. Or you get slapped with a $100,000 fine for parking your car … on… -
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,…