It’s time for a quick catch-up on three court cases: the Sawant recall petition, the ACLU/Black Lives Matter crowd control weapons case, and the landlords’ challenge to the city and state eviction moratoria.
Continue readingCategory: legal
Catching up with the court cases: BLM contempt charge, CHOP businesses, Trump “anarchist jurisdictions”
A trio of court case updates this afternoon…
Continue readingLawsuit to stop Cal Anderson Park encampment removal flails — and ultimately fails
It’s been a whirlwind two days in court, as one of the individuals living in an encampment in Cal Anderson Park attempted to convince a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the city from clearing out the park. It ended late this afternoon when the judge firmly denied the request.
Continue readingSawant recall petition now awaiting state Supreme Court ruling
Last week the final legal briefs were filed with the Washington State Supreme Court in Councilmember Sawant’s challenge to a recall petition. In late September four charges against her were certified by a King County Superior Court judge, and Sawant subsequently appealed that decision. Now it’s up to the Supreme Court to decide whether any of the charges can continue on to the signature-gathering phase.
Continue readingBlack Lives Matter proposes sanctions for SPD’s violation of crowd-control weapons injunction
This afternoon, Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County and the ACLU submitted to the U.S. District Court their proposal for sanctions that should be imposed on the City of Seattle, following a court ruling earlier this week that the Seattle Police Department had violated an injunction restricting its use of “less lethal” crowd-control weapons.
Continue readingChamber of Commerce files legal challenge to Seattle payroll tax
This morning the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce announced that it has filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court arguing that the “Jump Start” payroll tax passed by the Seattle City Council last summer violates the Washington State Constitution.
Continue readingJudge holds city in contempt for violations of crowd-control injunction
This morning U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones issued a highly anticipated ruling in the contempt charges against the City of Seattle for SPD’s alleged violations of the judge’s injunction restraining the police department’s use of crowd-control weapons.
Continue readingCity settles Che Taylor wrongful death suit with $1.5 million payment
This afternoon, the City of Seattle submitted to the court a proposed settlement and dismissal of the wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the city by the estate and family of Che Taylor.
Continue readingDurkan, Herbold announce bill to strengthen subpoena power of OPA and OIG
This morning Mayor Durkan and Councilmember Herbold announced a bill that would revise the subpoena powers that the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) and Office of the Inspector General for Public Safety (OIG) wield under the 2017 police accountability legislation.
Continue readingCity, state get win in court on eviction moratoria
This morning, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge J. Richard Creatura published a ruling in favor of the City of Seattle and the State of Washington, and denying a request for a preliminary injunction blocking the city and state moratoria on residential evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue reading