Washington

Sons charged with stealing from best-selling true-crime author Ann Rule

For decades, author Ann Rule has written one best-selling true-crime novel after another about people victimized by those they loved. Now it appears that Rule may have become a crime victim herself. King County prosecutors have filed theft charges against two of her sons, Andrew and Michael Rule, 54 and…

Apr 22, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Lawyer accused of stealing from his Washington law firm wasn’t licensed in state, prosecutors say

A lawyer charged with stealing from his law firm in Washington never followed through on a promise to obtain a law license in the state, prosecutors say. Philip Kong, who has a New York law license, is accused of pocketing $17,000 from a client without turning the money over to…

Apr 16, 2015 9:04 AM CDT

Legal technicians may partly own law firms in this state; is ban to nonlawyer ownership crumbling?

The only state in the nation that allows limited license legal technicians to help civil litigants has gone a step further with a new change to its ethics rules. The change will allow the legal technicians in Washington state to share fees with lawyers and become minority owners of law…

Apr 13, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Amazon sues over claimed fake reviews posted on its site

An Amazon lawsuit says three websites and a California man are free-riding on the Internet retail giant’s name–and hurting sellers and consumers–by posting fake product reviews on Amazon.com. The suit accuses the defendants of violating consumer and intellectual property laws by using domain names that are confusingly similar to Amazon’s…

Apr 9, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

One year after massive mudslide, owners of destroyed homes still trying to resolve mortgage issues

Dozens of Washington state homeowners whose former houses are not only underwater in terms of equity, but in some cases literally buried underground, are still struggling to resolve mortgage issues a year after a massive mudslide that killed 43 people. For example, it makes no sense to force people to…

Mar 25, 2015 9:15 AM CDT

Will California be the next state to allow legal technicians? Bar group calls for pilot program

Washington is currently the only state with a program allowing limited license legal technicians to help civil litigants prepare legal documents and provide advice on legal procedures. But bar groups in two other states are taking steps that could lead to legal technician programs in their own jurisdictions. A task…

Mar 23, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Bail set at $2M for man accused of driving to mental hospital with girlfriend’s body in his vehicle

Bail was set at $2 million on Tuesday for a Washington state man accused of driving to a Pierce County mental hospital with his girlfriend’s body in his car and telling staff that he had killed the woman, as he sought help for himself there. Staff of Western State Hospital…

Mar 11, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Marshals arrest open-carry advocate carrying rifle outside courthouse

U.S. Marshals arrested a man outside the federal courthouse in Spokane, Washington, who was carrying a rifle slung across his back. Anthony Bosworth told law enforcement agents he was exercising his Tenth Amendment rights, while a woman who was taping the incident said he was exercising his right to bear…

Feb 26, 2015 9:37 AM CST

Fatal police shooting of rock thrower spurs multiple probes

The fatal police shooting of a Mexican immigrant who had been throwing rocks at officers has spurred protest and multiple inquiries. Police in Pasco, Washington, shot and killed orchard worker Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, last Tuesday in an incident recorded on cellphone video, the New York Times reports. He had no…

Feb 17, 2015 12:11 PM CST

Family faces $500K default judgment for alleged ‘howling and explosively barking’ dog

A Seattle family that ignored a neighbor’s lawsuit is now facing a $500,000 default judgment for alleged emotional distress caused by their barking dog. The suit filed by Woodrow Thompson, claimed the dog has a problem with “raucously, wildly bellowing, howling and explosively barking,” KOMO News reports. Dog owner Denise…

Feb 12, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Mom accused of faking medical problems to get unneeded treatment for her children takes plea deal

Despite extensive tests, doctors at Seattle Children’s couldn’t figure out why Carmen Boyce’s two young children weren’t eating normally. But they did notice that eating problems arose only when Boyce was alone with them at the hospital. Charged in 2013 with faking medical issues and encouraging physicians to perform unnecessary…

Jan 29, 2015 1:10 PM CST

Florist who refused flowers for same-sex wedding can be held personally liable for her actions

A Washington florist being sued for refusing to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding may be held personally liable for her actions, a judge has held. The judge also upheld the state attorney general’s authority to sue the florist under the state’s consumer protection and anti-discrimination statutes, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer…

Jan 9, 2015 2:58 PM CST

Washington state moves around UPL, using legal technicians to help close the justice gap

Michelle Cummings looks forward to this spring, when she expects to take on her first law client. By then, the Auburn, Washington, resident will have completed her studies and taken the state licensing examination. Provided she passes, she will begin practicing right away.

Jan 1, 2015 5:50 AM CST

Washington state lawmakers won’t hear state of the judiciary speech; was ruling the reason?

Washington state lawmakers won’t be hearing a state of the judiciary speech from the state’s chief justice in January, but they say it’s not a snub. Lawmakers say they have a busy calendar next month, and past addresses have been poorly attended, the Olympian reports. The Senate Facilities and Operations…

Dec 30, 2014 11:30 AM CST

Graffiti suspect may have tagged from Seattle to Southern California, police say

A suspect in a California graffiti case may have tagged along the West Coast from Bakersfield to Seattle, police say. Derek Murphy, 21, was booked Monday on suspicion of felony vandalism after Santa Cruz authorities linked him to BERG and GREB tags on park property and police cars, the San…

Dec 19, 2014 11:30 AM CST