October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Which makes it both ironic and frustrating to learn how poorly Seattle Police officers handle domestic violence incidents.
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On May 9th, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 5599, removing certain barriers to transgender youth finding safe shelter in Washington.
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Dungeons & Dragons is a fun multiplayer Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) that gets your creative juices flowing. But now a study by Seattle-based research organization Foundry10 has shown something even better — Dungeons & Dragons can help kids build social-emotional skills!
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It is a sadly common occurrence among job seekers. They search job listings looking for potential employment. They see openings that appear to fit their skills and interest. Yet despite detailing all the requirements the employer has for the applicants, the ad provides little to no information about the benefits the applicant can expect to get in return. Perhaps just a vague reference to “competitive” pay and benefits based upon experience.
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Equifax is in the news this week for having send lenders incorrect credit scores for millions of people this spring. The full details are not yet known, but it appears that about 12% of all credit scores released from March 17 to April 6 may have been incorrect — some by as much as 25 points or more.
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When it comes to advancements in technology, courts are rarely on the forefront of adoption. Take our courts in Washington, for example. At one extreme, some counties have had robust e-filing systems for years. At the other extreme, some counties have no e-filing at all, and are reluctant to accept filings in any manner other than physically hand delivered to the clerk. This kind of patchwork approach similarly occurs with things like online access to case dockets and files, equipment available for use (or not) for trials, and so on.
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In the recent unanimous decision of State v. Zamora, the Court did not mince words in its finding that a prosecutor committed misconduct by appealing to the jurors’ potential racial or ethnic biases, prejudices, or stereotypes during jury selection.
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Today is the day for observing the federal holiday of Juneteenth (June 19th). As an official federal holiday it still remains new — having been approved last year by President Biden. But its history goes back much much further than that.
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In a stunning display of the racism and bigotry that remains systemic and tolerated within law enforcement, the City of Kent recently agreed to pay more than $1.52 million dollars to make Assistant Chief Derek Kammerzell go away.
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As a white American reform Jew, I have the privilege of not experiencing discrimination on a regular basis. When I walk down the street, no one can tell I’m Jewish just by looking at me. But growing up Jewish has given me a unique perspective into discrimination.
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Forced arbitration clauses are practically everywhere. They’re found in the fine print of all sorts of contracts — when you open a bank account, when you sign up for a cell phone plan, when you move into a nursing home, and so on.
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If there’s one thing you can count on history doing, it’s repeating itself. Book bans are hardly new. Yet no matter how many times we learn that banning books is never the right thing to do, it happens again. And again. And again.
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Earlier this summer the Washington legislature passed House Bill 1310 — establishing a “reasonable care” standard that requires officers to employ de-escalation tactics, use the least amount of physical force necessary and limits the use of deadly force to situations where there’s an imminent threat of serious injury or death. In response, police departments are effectively weaponizing this reform at the risk of harm to our most vulnerable community members.
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The law has not been kind to disabled people, to say the least. Yes, great strides have been made with federal statutes like the Americans with Disabilities Act, which attempts to prohibit disability discrimination and require “reasonable accommodations” be made in the employment context. But it’s far from perfect.
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The King County inquest proceedings, which has been the subject of much-heated debate and litigation, will soon resume after a fateful decision by the Washington Supreme Court.
Read MoreThe Olympics are nearly upon us. On the one hand it’s quite a feat — a testament to tenacity in the face of a global pandemic. On the other hand, it has been suffering from a seemingly endless litany of ills — lessons we as a society still haven’t learned.
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Last Friday I had the honor and pleasure of arguing before the Oregon Court of Appeals!
Read MoreNone of this is news. Black people are more than three times as likely as white people to be killed during a police encounter. Black children are more likely to be disciplined than white kids for the same behavior. This is a particular problem when it comes to Black girls, who are viewed in general as less innocent and more "adult" than white girls. It’s a view rooted in stereotypes, dehumanization, and yes, racism.
Read MoreSo proud to have voted, and proud of our state for being on the forefront of mail-in voting. Our system wasn’t put in place because of Covid, but the fact that we already had it meant one less concern for us as Washingtonians caused by the pandemic. I look forward to the day when voting is as safe and easy for everyone as it is for us.
Read MoreToday is International Pronouns Day, a day to shed light to the importance of respecting all people by referring to them using the pronouns they determine for themselves. This is an issue that particularly affects transgender, non-binary, and gender fluid people, but we all need to shoulder the responsibility of normalizing respect for people by respecting their pronouns.
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