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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 12 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 7 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 14 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1925 | 1 |
87 stories matching unconstitut
- Supreme Court Judges Refuse to Pay Road Taxes They Helped Build
Two justices owning land along Whatcom roads balk at assessments under the new law, hinting at a constitutional fight.
- Everett Labor Union Defies Federal Judiciary Over Free Speech
In a fiery resolution, the Central Labor Union of Everett declares Judge Daniel T. Wright's injunctions against union leaders an unconstitutional assault on American liberty.
- Street Peddlers Defeat Seattle’s Restrictive Ordinance
A municipal court judge rules that a city ordinance banning fruit and vegetable street vendors is unconstitutional and void.
- The Governor’s Office Emptied
Acting Governor Laughton faces accusations of legal overreach and depletion of state funds, leading to a clash with Governor Ferry.
- The Streetcar Men Asked Seattle to Set Their Wages. The City's Lawyer Said No.
A union petition to write conductor and motorman pay into the street railway franchise ran into the corporation counsel's constitutional wall — so the council sent it back to committee to try again as an ordinance.
- The Great Canal Scheme Blocked
A judge strikes down a law that would have allowed private contractors to dig the Lake Washington canal and seize tide lands for profit.
- The Eight-Hour Fight in Old Tacoma
In 1892, Tacoma laborers mobilized to abolish the contract system and secure a living wage, setting a stage for century-long debates over municipal labor.
- The 1895 Plan to Straighten the Sammamish River
A petition from H. K. Kelsey and forty others asked King County to drain, deepen and straighten Squak Slough, reclaiming 3,000 acres of overflowed land.
- The Great Spokane Tooth War
Advertising dentists battle traditional practitioners over new state regulations and the right to practice.
- The Capitol That Couldn't Be Built
After two failed attempts at financing, the state's third try at bonding the capitol building heads to the Supreme Court.
- The State's Sudden War on Cigarettes
Washington moves to ban the sale and manufacture of cigarettes, setting up a clash with the powerful American Tobacco Company.
- Seattle's Justice System Ruled Illegal
A state Supreme Court decision against Tacoma’s police court has triggered a legal crisis in Seattle, leaving local officials scrambling to save the city’s ability to prosecute crime.
- The Fight for the Immigrant Ballot
A Seattle contractor sues the City Clerk to challenge a restrictive 1893 registration law that threatened to disenfranchise foreign-born voters.
- Washington Burned the Nursery Trees—Then Came the Lawsuit
The state horticulture commissioner destroyed infected shipments from eastern nurseries. Now the nurserymen say he broke interstate commerce law.
- The Day Women Lost the Vote in Washington
A legal technicality regarding the wording of a territorial act effectively stripped Washington women of their hard-won voting rights in 1887.
- Legal Strategies Against the Geary Act
While the Six Companies prepare a constitutional challenge to the Chinese Exclusion Act, some factions within the community choose to comply to avoid deportation.
- Seattle's Chinese Community Resists Mandatory Registration
Local merchant groups and the Chinese Six Companies instruct laborers to defy the Geary Act until the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.
- Jailed for a Five Dollar Debt
A Spokane barber finds himself behind bars after a landlady uses criminal law to settle a civil board bill.
- The Judge Who Dissolved Two Towns
A legal loophole in territorial law leaves aspiring municipalities in limbo after Judge Hanford declares the town-incorporation statute unconstitutional.
- Government Intervenes in Landmark Labor Rights Case
For the first time, the federal government supports a worker's challenge to the 'fellow servant' rule, a legal doctrine that historically shielded railroads from liability for employee injuries.
- The Great Park vs. Boulevard Debate
A skeptical citizen challenges the Park Commissioners' grandiose plans for miles of boulevards, calling them an unconstitutional overreach of power.
- The Test Case for Chinese Exclusion
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear the Chae Chan Ping case, the lives and property rights of Chinese laborers in Washington hang in the balance.
- The Judge Who Lobbied for the Church
A scathing critique of Washington Territorial Judge Roger B. Greene, accused of using his office to force tax exemptions for church property through a back-door deal.
- The Day Seattle’s Women Lost the Vote
When the Territorial Supreme Court struck down women’s suffrage in 1887, the city’s lawyers, politicians, and citizens scrambled to interpret the fallout of a ruling that suddenly stripped thousands of their hard-won rights.
- The Agitator in Fetters
A prominent Seattle suffragist and labor activist is declared incapacitated by her family, sparking a debate on her past political defiance and current state of mind.