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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 9 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 21 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 16 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
144 stories matching libel
- The Apple Auction Wars
New York auctioneers hit back at claims that they 'slaughtered' the prices of Washington-grown apples.
- The Battle for the Six O'Clock Closing
A group of shoe clerks win a legal victory against their employer after being arrested for protesting late-night store hours.
- Seventeen Hours in the Jury Room, Then 'Guilty'
Rev. M. H. Nichols is convicted of criminally libeling Rev. T. B. Ford after an all-night jury fight; his lawyers promise a new trial.
- The Hatch Left Open: How a Passenger's Injury Put a Steamship Under Arrest
Mary Phelps was permanently maimed when a crew removed a hatch aboard the City of Panama. When the vessel reached Port Townsend, U.S. Marshal Hopkins seized it—prompting citizens to raise a $100,000 bond.
- Crew Seizes Steamer for Unpaid Wages
A steamship docked in Seattle was intercepted by federal marshals after the crew sued for back pay.
- The Vandalism at the Snohomish Hotel
A real estate dispute in Snohomish turned violent as competing claimants fought over a new building, leading to arrests for property destruction and concealed weapons.
- The Brutal Voyage of the Challenger
A crew files an admiralty suit against their ship's officers, alleging systemic violence and abuse on the journey from Philadelphia.
- The Barber, the Boarder, and the Bad Meat
A Rosalia boarding house proprietor sues for $6,000 after a poet lampoons his culinary standards in the local paper.
- The Steamboat 'Fleetwood' Over-Packed
A federal seizure looms after the steamboat Fleetwood is caught hauling dozens of passengers over its legal limit between Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
- The Railroad Beats the Steamboat on Puget Sound
Olympia’s favorite steamer Bailey Gatzert makes its last run as Northern Pacific trains drain the passenger trade.
- The Scandal of Surveyor General Henry
Dr. Anson G. Henry fights back against accusations of swindling the government and bribery in a blistering public defense.
- Fog and Collision on the Sound
A federal judge rules on a collision between two steamers, the Mary F. Perley and the Flyer, near Alki Point.
- The Strange Case of the Smuggling Steamer
The steamer Haytian Republic is seized by federal authorities on charges of smuggling Chinese nationals and contraband, sparking a legal battle over corporate versus vessel liability.
- The Ethics of Prohibition and the 'Beastly' Public
An editorial critique of a prohibitionist’s sermon that labels the common public as cowardly and corrupt.
- The Smuggling Sloops of Elliott Bay
Federal authorities launch an admiralty crackdown on the illicit landing of laborers along the Seattle waterfront in 1891.
- The Sheriff and the Slip-Up at the Border
A two-year-old political scandal re-emerges regarding the escape of two fugitives from Sheriff McGraw's custody in British Columbia.
- An Editor's Grump at the Panic of 1907
Amid a national financial collapse, a local newspaper editor offers a biting critique of 'high finance' and presidential rhetoric.
- The Stevedore’s Claim: A Waterfront Legal Battle
After loading a massive cargo of spars, timber, and planks, a Seattle laborer took the ship owners to federal court to recover his unpaid wages.
- The Newspaper Boycott of 1884
A Seattle newspaper fights back after liquor interests threaten an advertising boycott over municipal election coverage.
- A Libel Trial Over 'Sweet-Scented Houses' Puts Seattle's Police on Trial
Newspaperman C. H. Lugrin stands accused of criminal libel for printing that gambling and vice flourish under police protection — and the hunt for a jury drags from morning into night.
- The Notorious Haytian Republic Seized in Seattle
A federal investigation into a sophisticated smuggling ring leads to the sudden impounding of a steamship at the Seattle waterfront.
- The Forgotten Mariners of Puget Sound
Two sailors sue for unpaid wages in 1880, revealing the rough, transient life of the maritime labor force that powered Seattle's early economy.
- Deep Harbor, Shallow Anchors
A legal battle breaks out between two ships after a collision in Tacoma harbor reveals the dangers of local seafaring infrastructure.
- The Deadly Foggy Collision at Point No Point
A $126,000 maritime lawsuit pits victims against a coal-carrying steamer after a fatal 1892 collision in the fog.
- The Myth of the Rain-Soaked Seattle Winter
An 1886 editorial blasts federal meteorologists for misrepresenting Puget Sound weather to the rest of the nation.