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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 6 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 7 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 3 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 23 |
| 1876 | 103 |
| 1877 | 93 |
| 1878 | 58 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 23 |
| 1882 | 15 |
| 1883 | 96 |
| 1884 | 44 |
| 1885 | 102 |
| 1886 | 61 |
| 1887 | 73 |
| 1888 | 65 |
| 1889 | 146 |
| 1890 | 19 |
| 1891 | 163 |
| 1892 | 346 |
| 1893 | 407 |
| 1894 | 440 |
| 1895 | 458 |
| 1897 | 7 |
| 1898 | 31 |
| 1899 | 72 |
| 1900 | 20 |
| 1902 | 8 |
| 1903 | 189 |
| 1904 | 148 |
| 1905 | 9 |
| 1907 | 6 |
| 1908 | 41 |
| 1909 | 188 |
| 1910 | 40 |
| 1911 | 21 |
| 1912 | 7 |
| 1914 | 28 |
| 1915 | 18 |
| 1916 | 54 |
| 1917 | 18 |
| 1918 | 3 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 15 |
| 1924 | 12 |
| 1925 | 7 |
| 1928 | 4 |
| 1929 | 2 |
3,725 stories matching case
- The Judge Who Gambled Away His Office: Soderberg’s Dramatic Resignation
After the grand jury returned five indictments for extortion and malfeasance in office, District Attorney Joseph Soderberg walked into court, tendered his resignation, and declared he would repay every illegal fee to the county treasury.
- A Newspaper Editor's Silence in Court: The Lugrin Libel Trial
C. H. Lugrin, managing editor of the Seattle Telegraph, rested his defense without calling witnesses in a libel trial brought by Police Chief Rogers. The case now goes to the jury.
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- The Prosecutor's Record: 'Arrest on Suspicion, Investigate Afterwards'
A Stevens County election fight turns on the county's criminal docket — who jailed innocent men, and who got his convictions.
- Jailed for a Malicious Complaint, Freed by the State Supreme Court
A Pierce County jury found George Locke not guilty and decided his accuser, Leonard Permstick, had complained maliciously. The court ordered Permstick to pay $275.85 in costs or stay in jail—until the Washington Supreme Court ruled the commitment void.
- The Wharf King’s Victory: Yesler Wins Millions in Land Battle
Judge Lichtenberg rules that the state cannot seize waterfront property without paying just compensation, halting the Harbor Line Commission and protecting H.L. Yesler’s empire.
- The Yesler Will Case: A Dead Millionaire, a Missing Will, and a Widow on Trial
In a Seattle courtroom, prosecutors argue that Mrs. Yesler conspired to destroy her husband's will—while defense lawyers call the case a web of speculation and newspaper rumor.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- Guilty in Two Minutes: The Bunko Man With a Revolver in His Past
Knowlton, alias 'Robert George,' was convicted of swindling an Aberdeen banker with two copper bars sold as gold—then prosecutors unpacked a record that included a murdered minister and a courtroom shooting.
- The Union Veteran Who Sued the Railroad for a Million-Dollar Tacoma
Anthony P. Carr says Northern Pacific agents helped a claim-jumper steal his homestead. More than a thousand Tacoma lots—and the people living on them—depend on what the Supreme Court decides.
- 1876 Snohomish Court Targets Indigenous Gatherings and Brothels
In March 1876, Judge Lewis charged the first Snohomish County District Court grand jury to address public nuisances, including Indigenous gatherings and brothels, while also holding county officials accountable for fee books.
- A One-Man Supreme Court: Olympia Weighs 500 Cases and 16-Hour Reading Days
A legislative investigation hears that Washington’s high court has misstated facts and been crushed by its workload — with one justice sometimes reading an entire case alone.
- The Board of Health Weighed Closing Every School in Seattle
Scarlet fever was moving through the city's classrooms in May 1895, and the men who ran public health argued over whether to send thousands of children home for six weeks — and whether parents could be trusted to report the sickness at all.
- A Judge Reverses Himself and Lets the Gamblers Walk
A raid on Moy Lung's Washington Street gambling house netted twenty-two Chinese men. Then Municipal Judge Glasgow dismissed the cases, reversed a guilty verdict, and remitted the one fine he had already imposed.
- Who Owns the Shore? The Fight for Salmon Bay's Tide Flats
State land commissioners hear five contests over tide lands at Ballard, where railroads, mill companies and upland owners all claim the right to buy the waterfront.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- Seattle's Fire Chief Vanished Before His Day in Court
A.B. Hunt disappeared after telling friends he was off to Tacoma for trial; the city removed him, named Alexander Allen Jr. chief, and left a mystery that only deepened when his father was summoned to prove his birth.
- Every Hospital Turned Him Away, So the Health Officer Decided to Open One Himself
A contagious patient with nowhere to go, a council that won't pay its bills, and a health commissioner who dug up a forgotten ordinance and stopped asking permission.
- A South Seattle Murder Case Becomes a Constitutional Test
Henry Craemer’s court-appointed lawyer argued that Washington could not try a capital case on a prosecutor’s information. Judge Humes said it could; Craemer pleaded not guilty and began hunting for an alibi witness lost in the Cascades.
- A Chinese Merchant Lost His Store. The Judge Said He Still Had Rights.
When hard times turned Chin Chew Coy from shopkeeper to laborer, federal officials moved to deport him. Judge Hanford ruled that his treaty rights—and his Portland property—still protected him.
- An Alarming Rise in Typhoid Cases
Public alarm grows in Tacoma as local health officials downplay a spike in illness, suggesting citizens boil their water while avoiding any official critique of the city's water supply.
- Blaine Posted a Smallpox Patrol on the Border
With Victoria reporting dozens of cases, Washington border towns put travelers under quarantine and sent six officers to watch the line.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- The Banks That Wouldn't Pay Their Taxes
A county official fires back at his critics, revealing that the Municipal League members attacking him are stockholders in seven national banks suing to dodge their property taxes.
- The Judge Who Played Faro: Port Townsend’s Bar Association Moves to Impeach Morris Sachs
In a stunning display of civic outrage, local attorneys and property owners present sworn affidavits to the state legislature alleging that Superior Court Judge Morris B. Sachs regularly gambled on illegal faro games and prejudged cases before hearing them.
Also about this, in other words
- The Divorce Case Slugfest
A bitter custody and alimony dispute turns physical in a Tacoma law office.
- The Price of a Federal Court Case
After facing trial and a fine in a federal court, A. J. Lilie opts to pay up rather than take his chances with an appeal to the Territorial Supreme Court.
- The Marriage Defense
A lawyer attempts to delay a murder trial by arguing that the defendant is still legally married to the state's star witness.
- A Power Struggle at the Municipal Court
A confrontation unfolds as the City Attorney refuses to prosecute a disorderly conduct case, sparking a standoff over judicial authority in Seattle.
- A Lumber Case Becomes a Political Weapon Against Judge Carey
Opponents whispered that the judge reversed a jury in secret. A witness says the ruling came in open court before 200 people.
- Domestic Dispute Turns into Burglary Charge
A former husband is hauled into court after an unauthorized retrieval of his personal property from his ex-wife's home.
- The Fight to Clean Up the Shadow of the Church
A municipal court judge rules against a family accused of running a vice operation near the Plymouth Congregational Church.
- The First Mixed Jury in King County
A trial involving an allegation of child abuse marks a progressive, albeit controversial, first for the local court system.