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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 18 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 10 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 20 |
| 1892 | 46 |
| 1893 | 42 |
| 1894 | 36 |
| 1895 | 32 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 7 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 28 |
| 1904 | 19 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 15 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1924 | 2 |
391 stories matching complain
- Acquitted: A High-Stakes Business Feud at the Occidental Hotel
A local partnership dispute ends in court, leaving the complaining witness to foot the bill for legal costs.
- The Justice Who Made the Complainant Pay
When a man filed an assault charge in the local courts, a sharp-witted justice turned the tables on him—and sent him to the county boarding house.
- Seattle's Moral Crusade Against 'Indecent' Literature
Local news dealers face legal threats unless they pull racy publications like 'The Police Gazette' and 'The New York Telegraph' from their stands.
- A Rejected Suitor, a Pistol, and a Tacoma Courtroom
A German servant girl accuses a suitor of drawing a gun on her when she chose another man—and he takes the stand to explain his broken heart.
- The $100,000 Estate and the Indian Marriage That Seattle Forgot
A daughter claiming the estate of pioneer Franklin Mathias says her parents were married by Indian custom in 1867. A federal judge must decide whether that marriage—and her legitimacy—counts.
- The Boarding House Brawl
A Seattle assault case takes a surreal turn when a local judge publicly accuses a witness of perjury but refuses to punish her because he has become 'accustomed' to it.
- The Midnight Drills of Seattle’s Citizen Militia
Complaints of noisy midnight military exercises spark tension in the city, pitting neighborhood quiet against the pride of the National Guard.
- The Captain's Fistfight
A maritime dispute over a scraped ship in San Francisco leads to a brawling captain seeking surgery in Seattle.
- The Unwanted Charity of a Courtroom Foe
A woman pays her assailant's fine, leaving the man outraged by her unwelcome generosity.
- A Mysterious Death at the Asylum
A state official dies suddenly at the Fort Steilacoom asylum, sparking local rumors and questions about the workplace environment.
- The Salvation Army’s Public Nuisance
A Seattle man files a lawsuit for damages after a noisy street-corner protest left him terrified, trampled, and bruised.
- The Perilous School Run
An innocent bystander is struck by birdshot from a gang of children wielding illegal weapons near the Denny School.
- A Homesteader, an Indian Agent and the Land at Lake Chelan
When a federal agent prepared to forcibly remove a homesteader from land newly allotted to Colville Indians, Judge Hanford drew a line: the eviction would have to go through the courts.
- The Bitter Winter Job Hunt
A laborer complains that the territory is a 'fraud,' sparking a debate about migration, timing, and the realities of frontier economic cycles.
- The Battle for the Puyallup Reservation
A federal judge rules that the United States government no longer has absolute control over allotted Indian lands, clearing the way for a railroad to cross the Puyallup reservation.
- The Town Council's Bridge Feud
A bitter public dispute erupts over a $500 council appropriation for a bridge project on Shelton’s First Street.
- Quarantined Residents Left Without Food in Seattle
Thirty people trapped inside the St. Denis hotel by a smallpox order face city bureaucracy and hunger.
- The Great Olympia Slot Machine Sting
Gamblers tried to stage a test case to strike down anti-gambling laws, but were outmaneuvered by the prosecuting attorney.
- A Scandalous Breach of Promise
A $100,000 lawsuit in Port Townsend reveals a tale of alleged deception, a jilted bride, and an attempted hotel scandal.
- The Hypnotist in the Witness Box
A courtroom drama unfolds in Tacoma as a litigant is accused of using mesmerism to cloud the memory of an opposing witness.
- The Muck in Our Taps: Lake Union Water Woes
Seattle residents in 1885 are already fed up with their water quality, echoing long-standing frustrations with civic infrastructure.
- Calls for Segregation in North Yakima
Local property owners threaten to turn their own buildings into 'China tenements' unless Chinese residents are restricted to a specific district.
- The Pioneer Grumble: A Call to Organize
A longtime resident complains that 'tenderfeet' arriving on luxury trains have no idea what it actually cost to build the state.
- 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 Tragic Finality of William Naff
A Seattle man, driven to despair by illness, orchestrated a gruesome end to his life using telephone company equipment.