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Law / Justice

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Divorce for gay rights

Posted Thu, Oct 29, 6 a.m.

Island Girl: A new resident of Washington finds the prospect of Referendum 71's defeat so abhorrent that she's considering a logical pro-marriage response: splitting up.

READ MORE 10 COMMENTS

Ending homelessness: How are we doing?

Posted Thu, Oct 29, 6 a.m.

Those vaunted 10-year plans to solve the problem are halfway in, or more, and yet homelessness persists. Even so, we're making progress and on the right track.

READ MORE 9 COMMENTS

My picks for the general election ballot

Posted Thu, Oct 22, 6 a.m.

In a year of change, the choices are getting easier as Election Day approaches.

READ MORE 44 COMMENTS

Homes, not handcuffs

Posted Tue, Sep 29, 6 a.m.

Seattle isn't close to becoming one of the "meanest cities" listed in a national report, but may soon try its own take on the often-harmful "civility laws" sweeping the country

READ MORE 11 COMMENTS

Justice for sale

Posted Thu, Sep 17, 6 a.m.

Sandra Day O'Connor, visiting Seattle, argues for scrapping the state's judicial elections, making judges appointed. Ain't gonna happen.

READ MORE 1 COMMENTS

Obama sticks with the Bush approach on Columbia River salmon

Posted Tue, Sep 15, 3:34 p.m.

Salmon advocates had expected a move toward study of breaching dams as a remedy for declining runs on the Snake and Columbia. Instead, they got a "split-the-baby" decision that may please neither side of this hot political issue.

READ MORE 2 COMMENTS

Dear Legislator. Never mind.

Posted Tue, Sep 1, 6 a.m.

Sen. Adam Kline opposes a new recommendation to make all written communications to legislators subject to public disclosure. He thinks the law should be like the press shield laws, helping protect those who reveal sensitive information.

READ MORE 15 COMMENTS

The legal issues in 'backyard cottages'

Posted Fri, Aug 28, 6 a.m.

The state directs such small accessory units, to increase housing in cities. But cities get to regulate the local conditions. The fight in Seattle is joined in a few weeks.

READ MORE 15 COMMENTS

A nick-of-time court ruling stops the gravel project on Maury Island

Posted Mon, Aug 17, 6 a.m.

Judge Ricardo Martinez broadly rejected the Corps of Engineers' approval of the request, even offering some sweeping language about 'cumulative impact' of such projects. A victory for Puget Sound, or just an eddy against the bigger tide?

READ MORE 10 COMMENTS

Amsterdam sends a gay-marriage message to America

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 12:50 p.m.

Before a monumental wedding party, five gay Dutch and American couples were married by the Amsterdam Mayor. In a sense, the message stretches all the way back to when the Pilgrims spent time in liberal Holland before boarding the Mayflower.

READ MORE 2 COMMENTS

Showdown at Icicle Creek

Posted Wed, Jul 15, 6 a.m.

A long dispute over the way U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates its hatchery has moved to the courts. The case involves a prominent nearby landowner, Harriet Bullitt, and sheds light on the impact of hatcheries and water diversions.

READ MORE 2 COMMENTS

Reverse discrimination is back as an issue

Posted Thu, Jul 2, 6 a.m.

The Supreme Court ruling on the New Haven firefighters case, plus the Sotomayor hearings, bring back an issue that once divided liberals. Oddly, the President who started affirmative action was Nixon.

READ MORE 7 COMMENTS

Can we talk about what the County really does?

Posted Fri, Jun 26, 6 a.m.

The King County Executive race is highly competitive, but the candidates keep talking about issues where the county has little influence. Here's a plea to address the topics where the county matters, such as law enforcement.

READ MORE 19 COMMENTS

Humor: We need to do a better job at lying

Posted Sun, Jun 14, 12:29 p.m.

Standards for lying have declined deplorably. We need to professionalize it, and there's no better place to start than at our major universities.

READ MORE 4 COMMENTS

Seattle City Council decides not to index public records

Posted Wed, May 13, 6 a.m.

The decision will make it harder to find documents the public requests, and may open the city to lawsuits. The decision is puzzling, since state officials advise the creation of central data indexes.

READ MORE 8 COMMENTS

Who lost the big asbestos case in Libby?

Posted Wed, May 13, 6 a.m.

Did environmental groups let down the people of Libby? Or was it another bungled federal prosecution by the Bush administration?

READ MORE 1 COMMENTS

Torture, Nixon, Obama

Posted Wed, May 6, 6 a.m.

For many, Watergate is just a word, but it's relevant now as we consider what to do with Americans who tortured. Let's hope they don't get off as lightly as Wall Street's CEOs.

READ MORE 24 COMMENTS

Obama: Good news for Columbia River salmon

Posted Thu, Apr 23, 6 a.m.

The courts, which have rejected plans for Columbia River dams for decades, finally have a good governmental partner. But plenty of legal snarls remain, along with issues relating to climate change.

READ MORE 3 COMMENTS

Godless in Cascadia

Posted Thu, Apr 23, 6 a.m.

What are the public policy implications of living in the None Zone, where religious affiliations are limited? A comparison between New England and the Northwest offers hints.

READ MORE 7 COMMENTS

Will Seattle close the door on open government?

Posted Fri, Mar 20, 4:34 p.m.

With fewer newspaper watchdogs, the last thing we need is law that limits access to government doings.

READ MORE 14 COMMENTS

Other media

Washington takes a second look at three-strikes laws Gov. Gregoire's pardon is the first in the nation issued to a three-strike felon serving a life sentence.

James Q. Wilson: Hail to the Chief, the Boston cop who turned around the LAPD William Bratton was the best thing that ever happened to a deeply troubled police department. A noted political science pays tribute as Bratton announces his departure for another job.

Amanda Knox says police beat her in custody She takes the stand in her trial in Perugia, saying her confessions were the result of confusion and police pressure.

New drug czar Gil Kerlikowske wants to end talk of a 'drug war' He starts to lay out a shift toward treatment and away from incarceration in fighting drugs

Tim Egan: Why so many mass shootings? A Westerner, sensitive to gun issues, wrestles with a month that has seen eight mass murders.

Blog posts

Island Girl: I can see why that cop jumped to conclusions

Posted Mon, Oct 26, 6 a.m.

Large man, injured woman, smell of booze. And then there are those troubling domestic violence statistics.

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Island Girl: 'Somehow my husband has ended up in jail'

Posted Wed, Oct 21, 6 a.m.

After a bewildering domestic-violence charge, our alleged victim seeks help from the local authorities.

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Island Girl: A rocky landing in Washington

Posted Mon, Oct 19, 6 a.m.

"Even if you were taller and blonder," the cop said, your husband wouldn't love you. Part 1 of an occasional series.

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Gun crack down

Posted Mon, Sep 28, 10:55 p.m.

Focus should be on imposing real penalties on juvenile offenders, not Seattle's symbolic parks ban.

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Great start for Sotomayor

Posted Thu, Sep 24, 6 a.m.

Her questioning of corporate "personhood" is a positive sign on a fundamental fight.

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'Kennewick Man,' 13 years later

Posted Mon, Jul 27, noon

The sensational scientific claim devolved into more of a legal dispute over Native claims on pre-immigrant human remains.

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Rob McKenna reaches out to bloggers

Posted Wed, Jul 15, 6 a.m.

The attorney general has a good idea, since the Olympia press corps is vanishing.

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Why Northwest salmon are smiling

Posted Mon, May 4, 11:14 a.m.

Recent Obama administration decisions bode well on the Columbia, and Gary Locke, who knows plenty about salmon, is a key new actor

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Phyllis Lamphere is pushing for state income tax

Posted Thu, Apr 23, 11:55 a.m.

She's part of a task force that is crafting a package, linked to education reform and funding the state's new basic education act. Lamphere is not fazed that voters have nixed an income tax 8 times in this state.

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Tom Carr gives his side of open meetings flap

Posted Mon, Apr 20, 9:34 a.m.

The Seattle City Attorney outlines his role in such public issues, praises Seattle for its open government practices, and suggests the Legislature get some more sunshine

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