Washington

Seattle Gay and Lesbian Workers Fight to Keep City-Funded Club Records Private

Seattle employees who have joined a city-sponsored group for gay and lesbian workers are slowly losing an uphill battle to keep their names and sexual orientation private. This week a King County judge delayed the likely inevitable by ordering the release of documents with meeting attendee names redacted. At issue…

Jun 26, 2009 11:50 AM CDT

9th Circuit Pops Seattle’s Efforts to Regulate Balloon Artist

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Seattle’s efforts to regulate balloon artist “Magic Mike” Berger and other street performers violates the First Amendment. In a 7-4 split, the appeals court found that the city’s rules requiring performers to obtain permits to operate at the…

Jun 25, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

26 Former Foster Pepper Lawyers Form New Oregon Firm

Breaking away from Seattle-based Foster Pepper after more than two decades of affiliated practice, 26 lawyers in Portland, Ore., have hung out their own shingle this month and begun honing their own brand. Now the city’s 19th-largest law firm, Roberts Kaplan has created a new website that features photos of…

Jun 23, 2009 5:07 PM CDT

Pro Se Rape Defendant Questions Accuser, Prompts Prosecutor’s ‘Court of Terror’ Remark

An alleged rapist on trial in Seattle is acting on his own behalf, presenting a defense that has allowed him to directly question his alleged victim. The scenario has the court in an awkward position, in which it is balancing the rights of the defendant with those of the alleged…

Jun 23, 2009 2:15 PM CDT

Seattle Courthouse Gang Brawl Complexifies Murder Trial

As a trial began yesterday over an alleged gang slaying, Seattle police knew that a suspect being sought on a warrant was likely to be in the courtroom. So they arrested the unidentified man in a third-floor hallway of the King County Courthouse. Fists were soon flying, however, after rival…

May 20, 2009 12:16 AM CDT

Hipster Cities Like Portland Attract Lawyers Willing to Work as Paralegals

Portland, Ore., is among the cities attracting young well-educated “hipsters” willing to overlook a tough job market to live in a popular place. And some of the new arrivals are lawyers. Portland, Seattle and Austin, Texas, don’t have enough jobs for all their young and educated migrants, but the places…

May 18, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Top Wash. Court Denies Defense Fees to Supreme Court Justice in Ethics Case

In an unusual case involving a colleague, a divided Washington Supreme Court today upheld an appellate decision that denied reimbursement for legal defense fees to Justice Richard Sanders. Because Sanders was acting outside the scope of his judicial employment and when he visited a state prison and talked with inmates…

May 15, 2009 2:33 AM CDT

Firm Named for Bill Gates’ Father Is Axed as Microsoft Preferred Provider

The father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates now works for his son, but his former law firm has a less prominent position. K&L Gates will no longer serve as a preferred legal provider for Microsoft, the Seattle Times reports. Microsoft asked law firms for bids in January and announced its…

May 14, 2009 11:33 AM CDT

Lawyer Offers to Give $25K to Charity if He Gets 25K Twitter Followers

A blogging lawyer doesn’t think he can top Ashton Kutcher, but he has been inspired by the actor’s agreement to donate 10,000 malaria nets to charity as a result of winning a race with CNN to sign up 1 million Twitter followers. Seattle personal injury lawyer Bill Marler has a…

Apr 21, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Mom’s Quest Gets Wash. Judge to Review Daughter’s 1998 Suicide Finding

In 1987, legislators in Washington state changed the law to make coroner’s findings subject to judicial review. Now, for the first time, that law is being applied, in a mother’s quest to overturn a ruling that her daughter committed suicide in 1998. Ronda Reynolds was found dead in a closet…

Apr 21, 2009 12:26 AM CDT

Wash. Judge Charged in 2 Arenas Over Alleged Activities with Prostitutes

A Washington judge has taken a leave of absence after being charged both criminally and by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct concerning his alleged activities with male prostitutes and other claimed misconduct. Boycotted by prosecutors from his first days on the bench this year, Pierce County Superior Court Judge…

Apr 16, 2009 6:15 PM CDT

Boy, 9, is Too Young for Shotgun, Rules Wash. Judge

A judge in eastern Washington state has sided with the divorcing mother of a 9-year-old boy who is contending in court that he is too young to be given access to a shotgun by his father. Although he had earlier given his son access to the gun without incident, Sean…

Apr 14, 2009 9:22 PM CDT

90-Day Suspension Recommended for Rude ‘Judge Judy’

A Seattle-area small claims and traffic-court judge is once again facing punishment for rude behavior on the bench. Washington state’s Judicial Conduct Commission is recommending a 90-day suspension for Judge Judith Eiler, known as King County’s “Judge Judy,” the Associated Press reports. The commission said Eiler cut off defendants as…

Apr 13, 2009 2:08 PM CDT

Lawsuit Spurs Washington’s Lethal Injection Team to Quit

The state of Washington is without a team to administer lethal injections after all four of its members resigned in response to a lawsuit. The four volunteers, all who currently or previously worked for the Department of Corrections, apparently fear their names will become public as a result of a…

Apr 3, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

Big Bank Files Mortgage Racketeering Suit Against Individual Borrowers

A major international bank has filed an unusual federal civil racketeering lawsuit in Seattle against a mortgage broker, an escrow agent–and 10 couples. It contends that they conspired to defraud ING Bank of $6 million by falsifying mortgage applications, reports the Seattle Times. However, the couples say that they, too,…

Mar 16, 2009 7:11 PM CDT