It’s been quite the day for court rulings. Let’s dive straight in.
Continue readingTag: Black Lives Matter
In follow-up to contempt ruling, judge issues mixed ruling on sanctions
This afternoon, U.S. District Court judge Richard Jones issued his ruling on sanctions for SPD’s violation of his injunction restricting the department’s use of crowd-control weapons. He also ruled against the city on two related matters, setting up the city to appeal his contempt ruling from last month.
Continue readingA footnote to history: the state Supreme Court tries to repair a past harm to Black lives
Buried on page 13 of today’s Washington State Supreme Court ruling invalidating Initiative 976 is a lengthy footnote. It does something very unusual for a footnote: it explicitly overturns a 1960 ruling by the Court, in an attempt to make amends for an incredibly racist opinion that has sat on the books for sixty years.
Continue readingCatching up on the court cases: August 20, 2020
So many court cases, so little time to read all the filings. Here are updates on four high-profile cases involving the City of Seattle that all saw action this week.
Continue readingJudge Jones orders evidentiary hearing on SPD contempt charge
This afternoon, Judge Richard Jones issued an order calling for an evidentiary hearing to resolve the accusation by the ACLU and Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County that the Seattle Police Department violated the judge’s preliminary injunction and is thus in contempt.
Continue readingTemporary restraining order on crowd-control weapons extended to September 30 by mutual agreement
Today, by mutual agreement of the attorneys representing Black Lives Matter and the City of Seattle, the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Richard Jones last Friday was converted into a preliminary injunction that will be in place until September 30th.
Continue readingJudge issues temporary restraining order restricting SPD’s use of crowd-control tools
This afternoon, U.S. District Court Richard Jones issued a temporary restraining order that restricts Seattle Police Department from using some “less lethal” crowd control devices.
Continue readingWith no deal on temporary restraining order, Black Lives Matter and city face off in court tomorrow morning
Yesterday I reported that lawyers for Black Lives Matter and for the City of Seattle were trying to negotiate a mutually agreeable temporary restraining order related to the city’s use of “less lethal” weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets and blast balls for crowd control during the ongoing protests. But having failed to reach an agreement today, the issue now heads to a hearing tomorrow morning with U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones. In advance of that hearing, late this afternoon the city filed a brief with the city opposing the request for a temporary restraining order.
Continue readingIn lawsuit brought by Black Lives Matter, city tries to negotiate temporary restraining order it can live with
There was a flurry of activity yesterday and today between the lawyers for Black Lives Matter and the Seattle City Attorney’s office over the lawsuit filed earlier this week, which alleged that SPD’s response to the last several days of protests violated the protesters’ constitutional rights. Yesterday the plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the city from using “less lethal” crowd control weapons, including tear gas, on protestors. Today the city notified the court that it intends to oppose that motion, at the same time revealing that the two sides have been negotiating the terms …
Continue readingBlack Lives Matter, ACLU sue city over police tactics at protests
Today Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County filed a lawsuit on behalf of itself, several individual protesters, and one journalist, over the Seattle Police Department’s use of force during the protests over the past week and a half. (UPDATE at end of article)
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