Teen formerly accused in toddler’s death sues Seattle police

By LEVI PULKKINEN | The Seattle PI Initially charged with murder in the girl’s death, charges against Ashley Howes were dismissed with prejudice after a King County judge ruled that prosecutors could not use statements she made during a lengthy interview with police. Howes, who has maintained her innocence throughout, filed a civil suit earlier this month claiming four Seattle detectives … Read More

Jury awards $4.9 million to man who lost arm at Kent manufacturing plant

By Brian Rosenthal | The Seattle Times A man who lost his left arm in a 2007 accident at a Kent envelope-manufacturing plant was awarded $4.9 million Wednesday. The King County jury decided Ken Wessling’s injury occurred because the machine he was using at the time was improperly constructed, making it dangerous to operate, according to a news release from his … Read More

High court sides with sick 11-year-old, clears block to medical torts

By LEVI PULKKINEN | The Seattle PI When she learned she was pregnant, Julie Anderson working at a Pacific plant making paint. It wasn’t until her son was a little older that she realized he wasn’t quite alright. Doctors told her the boy, Dalton, now 11, suffered birth defects that make it harder for him to understand the world. She later … Read More

Families of victims in shooting rampage sue state

BY SABRA GERTSCH | KOMO 4 News SEATTLE — Isaac Zamora may be behind bars for the rest of his life, but he may not be the only one held responsible in his killing rampage that left six dead. His victims’ families say the Department of Corrections dropped the ball, and now the DOC says someone else is to blame. The … Read More

Justice slowly but surely: Toasting the Frye test

Trial News It has happened to all of us. There you are, sitting in the courtroom waiting for the judge to appear and issue a ruling. The judge finally emerges from wherever it is that judges go to decide which of your arguments do or don’t stink. You and your client bolt to attention. You look across the courtroom and … Read More

Supreme Court Win!

The Supreme Court unanimously held that if the scientific methodology upon which an expert relies is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community, the evidence is admissible under Frye, without separately requiring widespread acceptance of the plaintiff¹s theory of causation. For more detail,  click on the link provided.   Opinion

City, Fehlman remain part of Ostling lawsuit

BY DENNIS ANSTINE A federal judge has denied a motion by the city and Police Chief Jon Fehlman to dismiss their inclusion in the civil rights lawsuit stemming from the shooting death of Douglas Ostling by a Bainbridge police officer on Oct. 26, 2010. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton released a ruling on Tuesday that said the Ostling family … Read More

Judge won’t let Bainbridge Island, police chief out of wrongful shooting suit

BY TRISTAN BAURICK | The Kitsap Sun BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — The city of Bainbridge Island and its police chief can’t duck out of a wrongful police shooting lawsuit they say should be directed solely at the officer who shot and killed a mentally ill man late last year, a U.S. District Court judge ruled this week. The pretrial ruling was … Read More