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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 10 |
| 1893 | 7 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 10 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1923 | 1 |
72 stories matching appel
- Everett’s Sweetheart Printing Deal: The Supreme Court Said No
In 1894, Everett’s city council awarded its official printing contract to a bid nearly four times higher than a rival’s. The Washington Supreme Court reversed course, warning that public money was not the council’s to give away.
- The Case of the Tampered Transcript
A legal battle over a contested election takes a dark turn when unauthorized documents appear in the official court record.
- Newport Hauls a 142-Foot Cedar Out of the Woods for a Fourth of July Flagpole
A volunteer crew fells, floats and drags a giant cedar to the I.W.N. depot grounds, where it will fly Old Glory over town.
- Court Ruling Limits Liability for Railway Accidents
The Supreme Court clears a railroad company of liability in a 'staking' injury, signaling a tough path for injured laborers seeking damages.
- The Islander's Printing Contract Ruled Invalid
The Washington Supreme Court finds that San Juan County erred in awarding a printing contract to the Islander, directing the work to the Graphic instead.
- The Supreme Court Rules Against Gambling Debts
A Spokane County case sets a new precedent: checks used for gambling losses are legally void, even if passed to third parties.
- A Night Fall Into a Seattle Ditch—and the Supreme Court's Hard Answer
Allie Hobert knew the ditch was there. The state Supreme Court ruled that knowledge barred her $1,750 claim against the city.
- The Mayor's Veto: When Seattle Tried to Make the City Pay for Street Improvements
A 1892 legal battle over funding street infrastructure shows that Seattle’s struggle with municipal debt and civic improvement bonds has been brewing for over a century.
- The Railroad Came for the Tenant Farmers
A Washington Supreme Court ruling in Seattle said a railroad owed a tenant for the leasehold, crops and buildings its tracks destroyed—not just the landlord for the dirt.
- The Price of an Invalid Law
When the City of Whatcom arrested a man under an unconstitutional bicycle ordinance, the Supreme Court ruled he couldn't sue the city for damages.
- City Hall Wins Fight to Shutter Immoral Dance Halls
A Superior Court judge confirms the city's authority to declare dance halls a public nuisance, citing the corruption of public morals.
- The High Stakes Battle Over White Bluffs Water
A complex legal struggle over water rights enters a new phase after a presiding judge is disqualified from the appeal.
- The Saloons vs. The Dynamite
A railroad company’s failed legal attempt to ban saloons in Kittitas County on the grounds that drinking made workers careless with explosives.
- A Missing Word Nearly Derailed Bellingham's First City Election
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that Whatcom and Fairhaven could hold a combined city election in December 1903, reading past a clerk's drafting error to honor the legislature's intent.
- The Supreme Court Defies Its Own Constitution
A legal dispute over Walla Walla land reveals how Washington State wrestled with the transition from federal territory to sovereign statehood.
- The 17,000-Acre Land Grab
A federal decision exposes how settlers were misled by illegitimate land claims near Wallula, Washington, setting off a scramble for government property.
- School Directors Barred from Self-Dealing
The Supreme Court rules that school directors cannot bypass competitive contracts by doing the work themselves and billing the district.
- A New Church on the Hill—and a Promise of School and Hospital
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church was dedicated on July 18, 1909, drawing Catholics and Protestants alike to a new frame house of worship at First and Warren.
- The Cabin Door That Killed: A Man-Trap, a Storm, and a Supreme Court Warning
A Whatcom County man rigged a gun to fire when his cabin door opened. A storm-driven traveler triggered it and died—and Washington's high court upheld the conviction, ruling property rights stop short of deadly traps.
- The Mine Strike That Ended in a Shooting — and a Nonsuit
Washington’s Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of the Thornburn family’s damages suit after violence between striking miners and Black strikebreakers at the Franklin and Newcastle coal mines.
- State Supreme Court Upholds Lake Washington Canal Contract, Clearing the Way for Tide-Land Transformation
The Washington Supreme Court rules that the Lake Washington Waterway Company's contract to dig a canal and fill tide lands is constitutional, rejecting a landowner's challenge and affirming the state's power to remake the waterfront.
- The Chief and the Demijohn: Napoleon Whatcom Dies on the Tracks
A former chief of the Puyallup, remembered for wit and wisdom, is struck by a freight train near the Puyallup depot — with a jug of beer at his side.
- The Polls Closed an Hour Early, and the Court Threw the Election Out
A Jefferson County school-clerk contest reaches the state Supreme Court, where a statute's silence and a 7 p.m. closing time decide who holds office.
- The Seattle Star’s Local Beat: A Robber’s $20, a Funeral, and the Yellow Peril Panic
While New York burns in wire copy, Seattle deals with petty theft, local funerals, and a debunked rumor of an Alaskan battle.
- The Last Breath in Walla Walla: A Mother’s Collapse as Her Son Faces the Gallows
In May 1888, John Ham was sentenced to death for murder in Washington Territory. His mother, Mrs. Pyle, broke down in court, while their co-conspirator fled the state, leaving the family to face the ultimate penalty.