Washington

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

Law grads sue over ‘Barmageddon,’ seek refund of software fee and punitive damages

Law graduates in at least two states have filed suit over a so-called Barmageddon software glitch that reportedly made it impossible for a number of test-takers to submit their answers on time last month on the first day of the bar exam. Although the deadline was extended in all affected…

Aug 7, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Record mudslide that killed 43 exacerbated by rain, logging and lack of monitoring, says report

In Australia or Hong Kong, developers and local government are required to take action, such as monitoring, to reduce the risk of landslides, says a new report by an investigative agency known as GEER. But less restrictive land-use rules apply in the U.S., which may have contributed to the scope…

Jul 28, 2014 10:15 PM CDT

Thrift store donation of 3 human skulls puts spotlight on state law concerning skeletons in closets

An unusual donation at a Seattle-area thrift-store bin earlier this month shocked some but has created positive publicity about the need to comply with a state law, officials say. Three human skulls, two from clinical specimens for education use and the third a Native American child, apparently from long ago,…

Jul 21, 2014 3:40 PM CDT