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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
11 stories matching certiorari
- The High Cost of City Growth
When an ambitious land company faced a revolt over unfair property assessments in 1889, it revealed the messy reality of building Seattle from the ground up.
- The State Supreme Court Shuts Down Bremerton Saloons
The high court denies a plea to keep saloons operating, marking a legislative victory over the liquor trade.
- The Mayor Fired Him; He Says the Charter Says Otherwise
Ex-Police Commissioner E. C. Cheasty asks a judge to overturn Mayor Phelps’s removal, arguing City Hall ignored the charter and punished him for a political vote.
- Water War Hits Federal Court
A legal fight over irrigation rights moves from local courts to the federal circuit, testing whether government officers can be overruled by state injunctions.
- The Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Three men arrested under the 1882 Exclusion Act face deportation despite claims of residency; Judge Hanford declares the legal rights of Chinese laborers effectively suspended.
- A Twelve-Year Water War Ends in Victory for Valley Farmers
The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in favor of local Hanford water users, effectively ending a long-standing legal battle over irrigation rights and land ownership.
- The Mayor's Power to Fire: Seattle's Removed Police Commissioners Fight for Their Jobs
J. G. Niggle and E. G. Cheasty argue that Mayor Byron Phelps removed them without notice or hearing—and that the city charter requires cause, not whim.
- The Polls Closed an Hour Early, and the Court Threw the Election Out
A Jefferson County school-clerk contest reaches the state Supreme Court, where a statute's silence and a 7 p.m. closing time decide who holds office.
- Seattle's Mayor Overreached: Judge Langley Voids the Police Commission Firings
The mayor's summary removal of Police Commissioners Niggle and Cheasty was null and void, the court ruled, leaving Chief Rogers in charge and the city's police leadership in limbo.
- The Mayor Fired Him; He Took City Hall to Court
Police Commissioner John O. Niggle challenged Mayor Phelps's removal power—and his fellow commissioner Cheasty refused even to shake the mayor's hand.
- The Government Can Work You Ten Hours and Pay You for Eight
A federal appeals ruling overturns 256 Seattle laborers' overtime claims, holding that the government may punish the officer who orders extra hours — but owes the worker nothing for them.
Also about this, in other words
- The Price of Justice
The Washington State Supreme Court admits that legal machinery has long worked against the poor, promising to prioritize the cases of those unable to afford bail.
- City Hall Refuses to Rewrite Its Own Rulebook — and Dares the Supreme Court to Decide
Seattle's council rejects the freeholders' petition for a new city charter, declaring the enabling law unconstitutional, and offers to bankroll a test case all the way to Olympia.
- The Supreme Court Stops a Judge From Sending Yakima County the Stenographer’s Bill
A superior court judge tried to force the county treasury to pay for trial transcripts. The state Supreme Court said no—and used a rare writ to stop the warrants before they became county debt.
- The Court Let Harbor Lines Reach Beyond the City Limits
Washington’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court and held that harbor-line commissioners had jurisdiction in front of incorporated towns like Ballard, not just cities—then sent the case back to be dismissed.
- The Trial of Judge Hoyt
Facing a barrage of 'partisan slander' in the race for state office, Judge John P. Hoyt fights back against claims he acted as a railroad puppet and denied due process to labor protesters.