News – NWSidebar

by NWSidebar

How Policing in Washington is Changing After the 2021 Legislative Session

What is needed for police reform? Last summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in cities throughout America to highlight the urgent need to address that question. Here in Washington, officers kill more 35 people each year on average, although this is a low estimate as it only tracks shootings and not other modes of police killing. Two years ago, voters passed Initiative 940, which set new standards for use of deadly force and established requirements for law enforcement to receive de-escalation, mental health, and first-aid training. Yet, officers have killed more than 100 people in Washington since the initiative went into effect.

by NWSidebar

A Few Things Everyone Should Know About the WA Cares Fund

Washington is the first state in the nation to create a trust to fund long-term care costs for its residents, which will be funded through a mandatory payroll tax of .0058 percent. Effective Jan. 1, 2022, all W2 employees will be taxed $0.58 per $100 of income, with no cap on wages. Self-employed earners can opt-in to the program when the state makes applications available in January 2022.

by NWSidebar

Core Secrets: One Attorney’s Involvement in Legal Representation Regarding UFOs

As someone with a fortuitous front-row-seat to what my client, UFO researcher Grant Cameron, has called the greatest UFO Super Bowl event of all time, my formal baptism-by-fire into the U.S. government disclosure of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)/Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) began in earnest on Jan. 2, 2019 at 2:37 p.m. PST. It was then, that I received a strange, encrypted text message that, little did I realize, would change my life and many others across the planet. Now that UFOs (and the non-zero possibility of their extraterrestrial origins) are being confirmed by the Pentagon, the Department of Defense, and U.S. military agencies, it would only be prudent to get my fellow legal colleagues up to speed on these (possibly other-worldly) issues.

by NWSidebar

The Derek Chauvin Trial: Early Insights from WSBA President-Elect’s Judicial Perspective

Very little about the trial against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is standard. The mere fact that there is a trial is somewhat unusual. Police-involved deaths rarely result in prosecutions, let alone convictions of the officers involved. (Despite about 1,000 police-involved deaths per year, since 2015 only 121 officers have been arrested on charges of murder or manslaughter resulting in 44 convictions, according to the New York Times.) Few police-involved deaths are as widely well-known as the summer day in 2020 and the now-infamous video showing Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, ending in Floyd’s death. And certainly, never before has such an intensely high-profile criminal case taken place amid the unprecedented courtroom restrictions to amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

by NWSidebar

Legal Research Companies Casemaker and Fastcase Merge

Legal publishers Casemaker and Fastcase today announce their merger and joint building out of legal research and analytics, news, data, and workflow solutions. The two companies will combine their teams and technologies to innovate research, analytics, and workflow offerings that empower lawyers with powerful digital solutions for their clients.

by NWSidebar

State Supreme Court Case Could Determine Fate of King County’s Inquest Process

King County is one of the only jurisdictions in the country that requires an inquest every time a police officer kills a community member. But will these inquests continue to be largely pro forma processes that almost always appear to absolve officers of wrongdoing? Or will they become a meaningful tool for police accountability, a truly fair and transparent examination of what happened and why when law enforcement kills a member of the community? Families whose loved ones have been killed by law enforcement hope it is the latter.

by NWSidebar

Remembering Paula

The long-serving executive director of the WSBA, Paula C. Littlewood, died of pancreatic cancer on Dec. 14. We mourn the terrible loss of a great leader and a loving friend.

by NWSidebar

Washington Prepares for First-Ever Remote Bar Exam

For the first time in its history, the WSBA will administer the bar exam remotely. On Dec. 3, the Washington Supreme Court issued an order authorizing the WSBA “to conduct the February 2021 administration of legal licensing examinations for admission using remote testing software,” citing the “extraordinary barriers” created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.On Dec. 3, the Washington Supreme Court issued an order authorizing the WSBA “to conduct the February 2021 administration of legal licensing examinations for admission using remote testing software,” citing the “extraordinary barriers” created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

by NWSidebar

The 10 Most-Read NWSidebar Articles of 2020

You probably won’t be surprised by the trend that emerges when one glances through the most-read articles published to NWSidebar in 2020. As of this writing, after about nine months of COVID-19—with a vaccine off-ramp still months out and new spikes in cases resulting in yet another statewide lockdown—much has been learned about, adapted to, and coped with regarding the pandemic that has turned all of daily life upside down … and then spun it a few more times just for good measure.

by NWSidebar

Lessons From Earth to Outer Space: Space Law, Elon Musk, and the Future of Mars

The history of space law can be traced to competition among developed countries that demanded new ground for growing political pretensions.

by NWSidebar

Honoring Veterans in Washington State Bar News

Each November we dedicate a day to pause and reflect on our veterans. In the latest issue of Washington State Bar News, we’ve done just that. In recognition of Veterans Day, we’re sharing stories that focus on issues affecting service members, their families, and the legal professionals who make serving veterans their duty. Members of the WSBA Legal Assistance to Military Personnel Section help explain its origins and what its section members do

by NWSidebar

When the Feds Came to Town: An Interview with Former Oregon Federal Public Defender Steve Wax

Steve Wax, legal director for the Oregon Innocence Project and Oregon federal public defender from 1983 to 2014, has called for convening a grand jury inquiry into the the federal response to protests in Portland. We spoke with Wax to better clarify the questions behind the legal actions that took place.

by NWSidebar

WSBA Chief Disciplinary Counsel Receives National Bar Counsel Award

WSBA Chief Disciplinary Counsel Doug Ende is an eclectic personality on top of being a meticulous and measured legal ethics professional. This certainly was not lost on the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), which presented Ende with the 2020 NOBC President’s Award virtually on July 30.

by NWSidebar

When Court is Back in Session: The Plan for Washington Courts to Resume During COVID-19

Everything from social distancing in a jury trial to managing a backlog of cases remain top of mind for officials at all levels of the state court system. A review of county superior court websites reveals that many courts continue to prioritize virtual proceedings while developing methods to handle in-person interactions safely.

by NWSidebar

Are You Prepared for a Pandemic?

COVID-19, especially in Washington state, poses a threat on the legal profession and the world. We dive into the current circumstances and look at ways to prepare for pandemic.

by NWSidebar

Taming the Skies: What’s on the Itinerary for Service Animals and Airlines

Jonathan Ko dives into the USDOT’s recently proposed changes to regulations for service animals on commercial flights. Spoiler: pigs actually wouldn’t fly.