Washington

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

Police put brakes on body-camera plan, citing records request; earlier dashcam suits were costly

A plan to equip more than 1,000 police officers in Seattle with body cameras may not fly, due to the potential cost of citizen public records requests, officials say. A Tuesday request by an individual known only by his email address, [email protected], sought a broad swath of police records, the…

Nov 20, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Cleaning worker who got new job with $3-an-hour pay raise faces possible suit over noncompete pact

Benny Almeida admits he saw a noncompetition provision in paperwork he signed when he got a $15-an-hour cleaning job with ServiceMaster of Seattle earlier this year. But he didn’t think much about it, figuring the boilerplate language didn’t apply to him. And, when another company contacted him and offered to…

Nov 12, 2014 10:55 AM CST

FBI director: Agent’s fake claim to be AP reporter ‘appropriate’; news agency outraged

The FBI did not only plant a fake Associated Press article on the MySpace page of a teenage suspect in a high school bomb-threats case: An agent pretended to be an AP reporter in discussing the article with the suspect during a 2007 investigation. FBI Director James Comey defended the…

Nov 7, 2014 12:35 PM CST

Man gets 2nd settlement in same civil rights case after new document comes to light

Three years ago, Warren Burgess settled a 2009 federal civil rights suit for $27,000. Last week, he agreed to accept another $60,000 to settle the same suit over alleged racial profiling by Lakewood, Washington, police a second time, the Seattle Times reports. The rare opportunity to reopen the case resulted…

Nov 3, 2014 12:00 PM CST

Washington Supreme Court rules that defendants accused of rape do not have burden of proving consent

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that a rape defendant does not have the burden of showing a preponderance of evidence that the sex act was consensual, Reuters and the Associated Press report. The 6-3 ruling (PDF) reversed the court’s earlier decisions, saying the requirement resulted from wrong interpretations of…

Oct 31, 2014 11:51 AM CDT

FBI faked Associated Press news story to identify teen suspect in high school bomb-threats case

Seeking to download law enforcement malware onto the computer of a teenager suspected of making bomb threats against a Washington state high school, the FBI admittedly faked a news story. Then the FBI planted the bogus article about the threats, which purported to have been published by the Associated Press,…

Oct 29, 2014 11:50 AM CDT

Disbarred lawyer is on state supreme court ballot, along with his ‘Zamboni’ nickname

A former lawyer is running for a seat on the Washington Supreme Court in hopes of toppling the justice who wrote the opinion disbarring him in 2010. John Scannell will be on the ballot with his “Zamboni” nickname, gained from a previous job operating a Zamboni at Seattle hockey games,…

Oct 20, 2014 8:51 AM CDT

Federal judge axes Fox Rothschild in hacking case because firm represented a claimed victim company

A well-known Philadelphia-based law firm is conflicted out of representing the son of a Russian parliament member in a criminal hacking case, a federal judge in Seattle ruled Friday. That’s because the firm, Fox Rothschild, also has represented one of the many corporate victims from which the scheme—that prosecutors say…

Sep 26, 2014 3:20 PM CDT

Is state supreme court ‘out of control’ for holding legislature in contempt?

A Washington Supreme Court decision last week holding the legislature in contempt is getting reaction from editorial writers. The Sept. 11 decision says the legislature is in contempt of court for failing to provide a plan on how it will provide sufficient funding for education, report the Associated Press, Education…

Sep 17, 2014 6:40 AM CDT

Prosecutor whose bikini photo was reportedly found in inmate’s cell resigns $83K-a-year job

A Washington state prosecutor whose bikini photograph wound up in the cell of a prison inmate has resigned from her $83,000-a-year job. Marriya Wright also allegedly texted and called Matthew Baumrucker over 1,200 times during a period of a little over one month earlier this year. Authorities are now investigating…

Sep 12, 2014 12:15 PM CDT

Owner of bikini coffee stands pleads guilty to promoting prostitution, money laundering

The owner of controversial drive-thru Washington state espresso stands featuring scantily attired baristas who allegedly did a lot more than just serve hot coffee to customers has taken a plea. Carmela Panico, 52, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony counts of money laundering and promoting prostitution in Snohomish County Circuit…

Sep 3, 2014 9:55 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer gets 2 years for his role in stealing much of disabled client’s $500K settlement

A former Seattle lawyer has been sentenced to two years for his role in stripping a disabled client of much of the money she was entitled to receive from a $500,000 insurance settlement in an auto accident case. Edward Joseph Callow, 39, must also pay $167,500 in restitution, representing his…

Aug 18, 2014 4:55 PM CDT