For a lawyer, examining people’s lives and solving mysteries are part of the job. And there are many documentaries that highlight these aspects of the profession. Here are my five must-see documentaries to check out today.
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The basic question remains the same: Does the structure of an integrated bar association like that in Washington, and 31 other states like it, infringe on its members’ constitutional rights? To provide further clarity in answering that question, for the second time in three years, the structure of the Washington State Bar Association is undergoing a Washington Supreme Court-requested diagnosis.
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There is rarely levity in the court record, much less something that one would associate with the so-called “spooky season.” Understandably, a deep dive into historic court files rarely turns up anything that could fit under the more lighthearted side of Halloween. Because when a matter ends up in court, there’s rarely anything lighthearted about it. Even a search for keywords like “haunted,” “zombie,” or “ghoulish”—though they have that Halloweeney vibe on their own—most often brings up tales of actual horror.
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Among the many issues at the center of debates over police-involved killings, particularly killings of people of color, few are as impactful as qualified immunity. But for as often as qualified immunity is pulled into wider debates, the concept itself is idiosyncratic and opaque, perhaps even among legal professionals. It is not a law but a precedent, not an act of government but a judicially created doctrine. King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee is one of the organizers behind a planned full-day event aimed at examining qualified immunity. On May 7, Whedbee and Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary I. Yu will cohost “Qualified Immunity 360,” sponsored by the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission and featuring panelist presentations and discussion “to educate practitioners, judges, law students, and the public on the mechanics, history, and public policy behind the doctrine.”
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In 1996, “Macarena” was topping the charts, Japanese consumers became the first to purchase a new video format called DVDs, Independence Day blew up both U.S. landmarks and box offices, and the WSBA officially entered cyberspace. Recently, a member of the WSBA Communications Department was searching through old issues of Washington State Bar News and happened upon the following article which details the WSBA’s first website that went live 25 years ago this year.
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If you are a bystander and witness a crime, should it be a legal obligation for you to intervene? Or is moral responsibility enough? I have come to view the bystander, who fails to act, as complicit in harm that befalls the victim. This has compelled me to create a workable legal requirement whereby duty can be imposed on the bystander. Relying on the oft-repeated phrase that “people will do the right thing” is appealing and compelling, but the moral obligation model is, for me, tenuous and soft.
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In the July/August issue of NWLawyer (now Bar News), Andrew Bergh pointed out in his excellent article, “Washington’s Historic Courthouses—Through the Lens: Attorney-Photographer Explores the State,” that the beautiful 1887 courthouse in Columbia County is the oldest working courthouse in the state. While Bergh gave a fascinating glimpse of Washington’s legal history, there is actually much more to the story of Washington’s true oldest courthouse.
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For weeks, the national discourse has been embroiled in battles over the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the upcoming general election. Amidst an ongoing health calamity, people in the U.S. and around the world question how America will pull off a national election not so much from the ballot box but from the mailbox. A Brief Legal History of Washington’s Vote-By-Mail System.
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Perhaps the most impactful of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s famous dissents came in a case about gender pay inequity in the workplace: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. 618 (2007). Plaintiff Lilly Ledbetter began working as a supervisor at the Goodyear Tire plant in Gadsen, Alabama, in 1979. She worked there for 19 years and for most of that time was the only woman manager.
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Historically, most accessibility lawsuits concern inaccessible physical public accommodations. In recent years, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)—which was passed 30 years ago this week—has brought the fight for civil rights to the internet.
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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ADA. The passage of the ADA was a major milestone in the fight for civil rights of people with disabilities. People with disabilities banded together and forced Congress to pass legislation.
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The ERA battle is very much alive in court. To get a handle on the trio of lawsuits surrounding it, you first need to know a little about David Ferriero.
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On the centennial of Veterans Day, AG Bob Ferguson calls on the legal community to “reflect with solemn pride and gratitude for those who have served our country in uniform…”
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For those brave enough to peer through state and local law, spine-chilling statutes lurk in within those dark, foreboding places far below the subsections, buried within the municipal code, and deep in the docket.
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Most of what we think we know about daylight saving time is wrong. Farmers started it? Nope; they’ve historically lobbied against it. The Germans started it in World War I? Yes, but the concept had earlier origins. Most people hate it? Polling shows a less definitive public opinion than you might think. It’s pointless? Actually, […]
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On May 1 — Law Day 2019 — we honor a constitutional provision that says “make no law,” as we commemorate the rule of law in the United States. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; […]
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