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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 23 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 23 |
| 1878 | 46 |
| 1880 | 10 |
121 stories matching case
- The Unpaid Labor of Libbie Reinheimer
A rare 1876 court case highlights a wife suing her own husband's firm for unpaid wages.
- The Empathetic Pup of Idol Hill
A local carpenter finds comfort in a loyal companion who mirrors his own physical struggle.
- The Yellow Flag Mandate of 1872
Before the age of modern public health infrastructure, Seattle's early municipal government passed strict, penalty-heavy laws to contain contagious diseases through quarantine and public shaming.
- The Case of the Misunderstood Brawler
A sensational report of a violent street fight in Seattle turns out to be a classic case of mistaken identity, where a frightened man accidentally assaulted the wrong person.
- A Frontier Political Vendetta Over Voting Rights
A decade-old shooting incident in Oregon returns to haunt a Seattle man, sparking an unusual legal battle over his right to cast a ballot.
- 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.
- Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans
In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.
- The Duwamish River Schoolhouse Scandal
A romantic dispute between two suitors erupts into violence at a church service, forcing a local justice to mediate the cost of their bruised egos.
- The Opium Steward of the Dakota
A routine baggage check on the steamship Dakota reveals a massive illicit cargo, sparking a criminal case that hints at a long-running smuggling operation on Puget Sound.
- The Case of the Empty Bond: A Cautionary Tale of Corruption in Walla Walla
When an elected official absconded with nearly $20,000 in public funds, the court had to decide if his sureties were still on the hook—even though they had signed a blank piece of paper.
- The Mayor’s Sidewalk Mandate: Seattle’s First War on Public Infrastructure
In August 1872, Mayor J.T. Jordan issued Ordinance No. 32, forcing property owners on Capitol Hill to build their own sidewalks or face fines—a stark early example of the city shifting infrastructure costs onto private citizens.
- The Battle for the Unsurveyed Frontier
A 19th-century court case in Steilacoom exposes the tension between local land speculators and the ideal of the 'actual settler' on the Washington frontier.
- The Delegate’s Missing Work
A Seattle newspaper calls out the territory’s Washington D.C. representative for feigning ignorance about a local land rights petition.
- Thrown Into a Saw at Colman's Mill — and the Law Looked the Other Way
When Peter Feeney attacked a Chinese coworker in a Seattle sawmill, the man's foot was mangled beyond repair. The justice of the peace declined to hold Feeney, the prosecutor dismissed the case, and the town's paper argued the injury was just an accident.
- A Printing Office Blunder
A romantic visit to a printing office turns disastrous for a typographer when his fiancée accidentally destroys his hours of labor.
- The Scandal That Shook Seattle: The Arrest of Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin
In November 1872, two women were jailed for 'obscenity' after sending publications to a prominent broker. Their arrest sparked a frenzy in the young city, drawing crowds and highlighting the clash between radical feminism and Victorian morality.
- The Price of a Local Dispute: A One-Dollar Verdict
In the small, litigious world of early Seattle, a courtroom battle over an unspecified grievance concludes with a verdict that barely covers the cost of the ink to record it.
- The Great Incorporation Panic of 1878
When a legal technicality threatened to render Seattle’s entire municipal government illegitimate, a frantic scramble to re-incorporate revealed the fragile foundations of early frontier law.
- The Puppet Editor's Expensive Betrayal
A cautionary tale of a local 'figurehead' editor who was used by power brokers to spread libel, only to be abandoned when the lawsuits started arriving.
- The Price of a Glass of Beer
A Seattle man faces legal consequences for a small, unthinking gesture that violated the territory's strict and discriminatory liquor laws.
- The Territorial Auditor and the Slander Machine
When the Walla Walla Statesman accused a prominent territorial official of being a fugitive felon, it sparked a local crisis in journalistic ethics and public reputation.
- The Sad Case of the Shoe-Snatching Prisoner
A man’s desperate theft of footwear ends in a courtroom, highlighting the meager choices available to the poor in 1870s Seattle.
- The Midnight Shot at the Eldorado
A quiet night in a Seattle saloon turns into a tense legal spectacle after a musician goes on a shooting spree during a restless sleep.
- A Frontier Homestead Lost to Debt
When a small-scale farm on the outskirts of 1880 Seattle becomes a casualty of high-interest credit, the Sheriff moves in to settle the accounts.
- The Nine Men Who Refused to Work: Seattle’s First Labor Standoff
In December 1876, nine coal miners at the Seattle bunkers defied orders on the ship *War Hawk*, leading Commissioner Smith to commit them to jail until the vessel sailed.