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| 1860 | 1 |
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220 stories matching valid
- City Assessment Scheme Ruled Valid After Legal Fight
The state supreme court overturns a previous ruling, saving Seattle from a potential financial crisis regarding street improvement assessments.
- The First Convict of the Gambling Law
A Spokane saloon operator becomes the first casualty of Washington's strict new anti-gambling statute, landing a one-year sentence at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla.
- The City’s IOUs: Seattle's Great 1892 Debt Reckoning
Facing a mountain of unpaid warrants and legal liabilities, the city council asks voters to decide if Seattle will settle its debts with bonds or face financial collapse.
- The Fight for the Ten-Hour Day
A department store faces legal action for forcing saleswomen into fourteen-hour shifts.
- Ballard’s Police Judge Questioned
A dairyman challenges the legitimacy of his jail sentence and the authority of the judge who signed the warrant.
- Was Tacoma's Mayor a Foreign Subject?
A persistent rumor claiming Mayor George P. Wright never completed his naturalization caused a stir among the city's political and gambling circles.
- Spokane's Year-Long Franchise War: Will the Railroads Get In Without a Public Vote?
After more than a year of bitter fighting over the North Coast and Milwaukee railroads' applications to enter Spokane, the City Council appears ready to grant franchises without the terminal rate clause — leaving open whether voters get a say.
- City Ordinances Nullified by Printing Error
A procedural blunder leaves Aberdeen's recent city ordinances legally unenforceable.
- Great Northern Sues Rivals Over Seattle Waterfront Tracks
The Great Northern Railway launches a massive legal offensive against rival lines to secure its right-of-way across Seattle's tide lands.
- Corruption Charges Dog Tacoma's Water Bond Vote
Citizens and whistleblowers allege ballot-stuffing and illegal voting in a contentious election deciding the fate of the city's private utility purchase.
- The Right to Water: A Legal Win for Landowners
A landmark court ruling frees White Bluffs landowners from paying for irrigation water they did not use, potentially signaling the end for the local water company.
- After Court Fight, Seattle Tries Again to Bill Yesler Avenue Property Owners
City Engineer Thomson files a new assessment roll for grading Yesler Avenue, shifting $21,053.58 onto abutting owners and $16,762.16 onto the city.
- The Letter That Asked: Is Olympia's Street-Tax Ordinance Even Legal?
A citizen signing himself 'Marius' argues that the city's method of charging property owners for street paving and grading violates due process — and warns that if the assessments collapse in court, every taxpayer in town will pay for it.
- Supreme Court Upholds Chinese Exclusion
The high court rules that Congress has the power to abrogate treaties, effectively ending the entry of Chinese laborers to the United States.
- The Fight Over Seattle’s Streetcar Franchises
The Seattle City Council debates whether 50-year streetcar monopolies should be extended without public bidding, raising questions about corporate influence and municipal control.
- The Swindled Investor and the 'Silver Mine' Scam
A Seattle real estate dealer is arrested after selling fake claims to a nonexistent silver mine, sparking a heated legal battle and a courtroom confrontation.
- The Yakima Water Wars
A landmark federal court decision secures the future of government irrigation projects across the Yakima Valley.
- The Gambler Who Fled the Law
After volunteering to test the legality of a new anti-gambling statute, a Spokane man skips town rather than face his penitentiary sentence.
- The City Hall Printing Squabble
Seattle's Board of Aldermen stalls on a contract, sparking a debate over government transparency, political favoritism, and the true meaning of 'general circulation.'
- Tacoma’s Million-Dollar Water Scandal
Citizens are fighting to repudiate a massive bond issue for a municipal water plant they claim is worth only a fraction of the cost.
- The Great 'Ram’s Horn' Legal Battle Ends
A landmark Supreme Court decision upholds railroad franchises against the City of Seattle, clearing the way for new industrial development along the waterfront.
- The Great Jury Debate: When Washington Women Fought for the Bench
A landmark 1888 legal dispute threatened to strip women of their newly won right to vote and serve as jurors in Washington Territory.
- The Saloonkeeper's Legal Loophole
A Seattle business owner successfully challenged city regulators by arguing that a valid, unexpired license remains binding even after moving to a new storefront.
- The Battle for Tacoma's City Treasury
A councilman claims the city treasury is nearly empty while the treasurer boasts of a surplus, sparking a high-stakes standoff over public funds and transparency.
- The Supreme Court Rules Against Voter Registration in Tacoma
A surprise high court ruling eliminates voter registration requirements for an upcoming special municipal bond election, sparking fears of illegal voting.