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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 11 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 15 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
136 stories matching code
- The New Penal Code Left the Red Lights Burning
Washington's 1909 criminal code accidentally protected brothels from local crackdowns, and Northport's city fathers could only watch the glare.
- Use It or Lose It: Washington’s 1917 Water Rights Showdown
A proposed state water code would end speculation in stream rights and force landowners to put water to work—or forfeit the claim.
- A State Board Told Dentists to Sign Away Their Ads — One Seattle Man Refused
At the 1903 licensing exams in Tacoma, Washington's dental examiners demanded applicants sign a code-of-ethics contract before they could sit down. Edwin J. Brown of Seattle said no — and the whole profession waited to see whether he'd be barred from practice.
- Olympia Legislative Chaos
A bitter brawl erupts in the Washington House over a new criminal code, featuring accusations of 'jobbery' and an eleventh-hour ban on private-home gambling.
- Sunday Amusements Legalized in Washington
A new state criminal code moves to modernize public life, allowing theaters, baseball, and billiards on Sundays.
- The Loophole Arsonist
A man accused of burning down his own house escapes conviction because the law failed to define arson as a crime when committed against one's own property.
- A Legislature in the Homestretch: Saloons, Gambling and a Fight Over Pledges
With days left in Olympia, Washington lawmakers weigh local option, an anti-racetrack law, a sweeping criminal code and a bill aimed at unions and suffragists.
- Coulee City Mandates Electrical Safety Inspections
New municipal code establishes safety standards and inspection fees for residential and commercial wiring.
- The First Legal Code of Washington Territory
A sweeping 1854 legislative act codified the rules of the frontier, from the punishment of corrupt jailers to the regulation of 'notorious barrators' and illegal gambling.
- A Lawyer Outwits the Law
After sitting in jail for sixty days without a trial, an enterprising young attorney secures his own release by quoting the state code.
- The Fight to Tighten the Initiative Process
A landmark legislative struggle to regulate how Washingtonians propose and recall laws and public officials.
- 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 Great Seattle Tent-Roof Controversy
Facing a winter housing shortage, Seattle officials were forced to choose between strict fire safety codes and allowing residents to shelter themselves under makeshift canvas roofs.
- The Corpse in the Chicken Yard
A bungled insurance swindle in 1890s Seattle turns grisly when an amateur conspiracy, a stolen body, and a coded German letter unravel in a courtroom inquest.
- The War on 'Unethical' Dentistry
Tacoma dentists face prosecution for the crime of advertising and cutting prices in a state-led industry crackdown.
- The 1909 Legislature Went Home With a $10 Million Tab and an Unfinished Scandal
Washington's eleventh session adjourned with record spending, a sweeping new criminal code, a local-option liquor law, an equal-suffrage referendum — and an insurance investigation the House only agreed to after the acting governor threatened to drag them back.
- Olympia Moves to Outlaw the Insanity Defense — and Gag the Press on Murders
With the 1909 session half gone, Washington's legislature advances local option and an anti-racetrack gambling bill, while a sweeping new criminal code would strip juries of the insanity plea and bar newspapers from covering homicides before trial.
- City Inspector Cracks Down on Defective Chimneys
Building Inspector Hebblethwaite condemns six chimneys in a single week for fire safety violations.
- 651 Bills, 13 Laws: Inside Olympia's Frantic Last Two Weeks
A deadlocked local-option fight, a women's eight-hour bill that ended in fisticuffs, and a marriage law barring 'drunkards' and the 'feeble-minded' — the 1909 legislature's chaotic home stretch.
- City Marshal Halts Construction on Yakima Property
A dispute over building code violations leads to a mid-construction work stoppage in the heart of the city.
- Washington Writes Equal Access to Inns, Barbershops and Streetcars Into Law
In March 1895 the state legislature amended its civil-rights code so that every person in Washington — 'of whatever race, color or nationality' — could claim the full enjoyment of public accommodations, with fines and jail for those who refused.
- The Shanty That Refused to Die
A year after the grand Yeager Building rose on Front Street, a flimsy wooden shack still blocks the sidewalk—proof that Seattle’s building codes are mere suggestions.
- A Grandmother’s Protest Against Modern Medicine
An 88-year-old Seattle resident challenges the medical establishment's use of grease and drugs to treat scarlet fever, advocating for a return to water-based remedies.
- The Unspoken Code of the Union Card
When a worker breaks his word to an employer, he does more than lose a job—he tarnishes the reputation of every laborer in the city.
- The First Legislative Assembly of Washington Territory Adjourns
After intense deliberation and the drafting of a new legal code, Washington’s first territorial lawmakers closed their session in Olympia.