Washington

Lawyer, a Harvard law grad, gets house arrest after he is convicted of theft and barratry

A lawyer has been sentenced to house arrest after his conviction for stealing $10,200 from a Seattle-area law firm where he was working despite having no law license in Washington state. Philip Kong, a Harvard law grad, was sentenced last Wednesday to 60 days of electronic home detention, 30 days…

Mar 21, 2016 9:01 AM CDT

Accused Russian hacker’s laptop was accessed without US search warrant, suppression motion says

A well-known criminal defense lawyer representing an accused Russian hacker in a high-profile federal case is seeking to have the contents of his client’s laptop suppressed as evidence. That’s because thousands of files were accessed—and hundreds were modified—between the time Roman Seleznev was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service and…

Mar 14, 2016 1:05 PM CDT

Immigration judge said some 4-year-olds don’t need lawyers in deportation cases, ACLU lawyer claims

It might seem obvious that a 3- or 4-year-old child needs a lawyer at a deportation hearing. But children as young as 3 or 4 years old can represent themselves, an immigration judge reportedly stated or implied in a deposition in a federal civil rights case last year, so long…

Mar 4, 2016 2:50 PM CST

Judge sanctions lawyers $32K for ‘intentionally misleading conduct’ in settlement negotiations

A Seattle judge has fined two lawyers $32,000 for failing to tell opposing counsel that the county risk manager never approved a proposed $250,000 settlement, even as deal language was being negotiated. Judge Beth Andrus of King County imposed the sanction last Wednesday on lawyers Richard Jolley and Stewart Estes,…

Feb 22, 2016 7:28 AM CST

Seattle mayor OKs ‘safe lots’ where those living in vehicles can park them

Using emergency powers that allow him to bypass some planning and zoning approvals that ordinarily would be required, Seattle’s mayor has ordered two “safe lots” to be established on public property that will provide parking spaces for those living in their vehicles. Up to 50 spaces will be available at…

Jan 20, 2016 4:40 PM CST

Inmate released early due to computer glitch is charged with vehicular homicide

A Washington state inmate who was mistakenly released from prison too early has been charged with vehicular homicide for an accident that occurred when he should have been incarcerated. The former inmate, Robert Terrance Jackson Jr., was released on Aug. 10, though he should have remained in prison until Dec.…

Dec 29, 2015 1:37 PM CST

Software error led to early release of more than 3,000 inmates; there was no fix despite 2012 notice

More than 3,000 inmates in Washington state have been released early since 2002 because computer software miscalculated good time credits, Gov. Jay Inslee announced at a news conference on Tuesday. The problem was discovered in 2012 after a victim’s family questioned the release date of an inmate, but the software…

Dec 23, 2015 10:26 AM CST

Washington State Bar suspends some ethics opinions because of antitrust concerns

The Washington State Bar Association has directed its ethics committee to stop issuing ethics opinions that could be interpreted as having a restraint on trade in the legal services market. Debra Carnes, the bar’s chief communications officer, says the move is temporary, according to the ABA BNA Lawyers’ Manual on…

Dec 21, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Videos from police probe of bikini baristas are subject to open records law, judge rules

Police in Everett, Washington, have to release copies of surveillance videos of bikini baristas who exposed themselves and performed sexual acts, but the records could be released in a screen-shot format, a Snohomish County judge has ruled. Judge George Appel ruled on Monday that open records law requires the city…

Dec 9, 2015 11:31 AM CST

Federal judge blasts DOJ for seizing $908K in client funds from law firm trust account

A federal judge in Washington state on Thursday ordered the feds to return $908,000 to counsel for an indicted (PDF) state official. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton blasted the Department of Justice for seizing the money, after claiming that the funds were allegedly obtained by state auditor Troy Kelley, before…

Dec 3, 2015 3:20 PM CST

Barefoot Bandit can’t profit from crime spree but studio pays $1M restitution to tell his life story

When the so-called Barefoot Bandit took a plea in 2011, part of the deal was that the then 20-year-old could not profit from his two-year crime spree, ABC News reported at the time. However, a Hollywood studio was allowed to pay $1 million in restitution to victims on behalf of…

Nov 23, 2015 10:30 AM CST

Law school offered buyouts to all its tenured faculty

Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, dealt with a 28 percent drop in enrollment by offering buyouts to every one of its 17 professors. So far, four faculty members accepted the offer, the Inlander reports in a story noted by TaxProf Blog. Law school dean Jane Korn told…

Nov 23, 2015 7:53 AM CST

Board members quit, blast Washington State Bar in fight over UPL, legal technicians

Updated: Washington state’s Practice of Law Board has been hit with mass resignations and departures as a result of a long-running feud with the bar association’s leaders. On Monday, former board members released an 11-page letter (PDF) accusing the executive director of the state bar of pursuing “a campaign to…

Nov 9, 2015 4:25 PM CST

Public defender suit says she was terrorized by serial stalker assigned as a client

A man with a history of stalking charges who had previously targeted a female public defender for unwanted attention was nonetheless assigned to another female public defender in a new criminal case, a lawsuit says. That resulted in months of traumatizing harassment that will likely affect her for the rest…

Nov 5, 2015 11:00 AM CST

Prisoners benefited from yoga and parenting classes, study finds

Prisoners who participated in a yoga and parenting program in Wenatchee, Washington, benefited from the instruction, according to researchers who conducted the study. After completing the program, the inmates reported significant changes in their ability for self-compassion; their ability to feel connected to the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of…

Oct 28, 2015 6:15 AM CDT