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61 stories matching demurr
- Ousted Over an $18.90 Lumber Bill, a Councilman Gets His Seat Back
Ballard's council removed Thomas Winsor without a hearing — right after he accused the city treasurer of pocketing $1,058. A judge ruled the whole thing illegal and threw out his replacement.
- Tacoma Sues Its Ex-Treasurer Over Public Money Lost in Failed Banks
The city argues George W. Boggs should answer for funds left in banks that collapsed — but a judge rules the council had no right to name depositories in the first place.
- 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.
- The Council Seat That Went to Court
After Blake outpolled Morris in December, the city council seated Morris anyway. Judge Langley rules that the courts, not the council, must decide who really won.
- A $5,000 Check and a Textbook Vote: the Supreme Court Says the Bribery Case Must Be Tried
Book agents accused of buying a state school-board vote with a five-thousand-dollar check get their indictment reinstated — and the case heads back to a Thurston County jury.
- The Barber Licensing Wars
A test case in Walla Walla pits state health inspectors against local barbers resisting a price hike.
- Seattle’s Fire Chief Fights a Naturalization-Fraud Indictment
Chief Hunt’s lawyers argued that false statements on his citizenship papers did not matter—because Washington’s constitution had already made him a citizen.
- A Judge Tells Spokane's Restaurant Men Their Strike Injunction Is Worthless
Judge J. Stanley Webster refused to restrain the cooks' and waiters' union, upheld the right to strike and to publish 'union house' cards — a rare courtroom win for organized labor in 1910.
- The Tide Land Freeze: Ballard’s Waterfront Plats Go to Court
A judge restrains appraisers from filing supplemental tide-land plats as landowners, the state land commission and the county auditor fight over who controls the shore.
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- Washington's First Impeachment Trial Is Losing Its Charges to a Comma
Insurance Commissioner J. H. Schively's Senate trial drops twenty-six counts down toward half of them on a technicality, while the sixty-day legislative clock runs out Saturday at midnight.
- Newport Saloons Lose the First Round in the Dry Fight
A Spokane judge upheld the town's local-option election, forcing saloon owners to amend their challenge—while the anti-saloon league plotted a dry Washington.
- The Inheritance Suit for the Atterbury Farm
Two school teachers initiate a legal battle to reclaim a half-interest in a farm, citing their status as minors during a 1893 foreclosure.
- The Judge Says the School Board Can Spend the Building Levy on Anything It Likes
A resident of the newly annexed district sued to force Seattle's school money into bricks and mortar only. Judge Osborn dissolved the injunction, sustained the board's demurrer, and sent the plaintiffs back to rewrite their complaint.
- A Judge Strikes Down the Ordinance That Told Teamsters to 'Move On'
A test case in Seattle's court quashes the section that let the board of public works declare any wagon an obstruction — and the courtroom fills with teamsters waiting on the verdict.
- The Clerk Who Refused to Leave Office—and the Books That Wouldn't Balance
King County and former clerk W. B. Spencer submit a long-running dispute over fees, continuances and a disputed shortage to Judge Humes for a final ruling.
- The Heirs Who Came for a Snohomish Subdivision — and Went Home Empty
Five years of litigation over half of a $40,000 estate ends in a demurrer: under the law of 1879, a dead wife's share of the community property belonged to her husband, and the people who bought lots in the Clay addition can keep their houses.
- The Ex-Treasurer Who Paid to Take Office—and Wants His Money Back
D. K. Durie says Seattle is stalling on a court-ordered refund of a Mill Street grade assessment. His suit asks a judge to decide how long a city can wait before delay becomes refusal.
- Tacoma's Water and Light Bonds Survive Their Day in Court
Judge Stallcup's suit to invalidate the city's light and water bond issue was dismissed in superior court; the case will go to the state Supreme Court.
- 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 Judge Who Was Drunk on the Bench and Threatened to Fill a Man with Lead
A legislative committee in Olympia substantiates charges that Chehalis Judge W.W. Langhorne dismissed cases unread, threatened a man with a revolver, and traded court favors for political help.
- The Day the Supreme Court Barred Seattle Women from the Ballot Box
In a pivotal 1888 ruling, the Washington Territorial Supreme Court officially disenfranchised women, setting the stage for a decades-long fight for political agency.
- The Judge Who Cleared the Way to Sell Puyallup Reservation Land
In April 1895, a federal court refused to block the sale of Puyallup Indian Reservation lands, ending an injunction and setting the stage for dispossession.
- The Day Seattle Stood Still: The Eight-Hour Workday That Shook the City
In a landmark legal battle that defined labor rights in the Pacific Northwest, Judge Jacob struck down the city's eight-hour ordinance, ruling that the council had overstepped its authority—a decision that would soon be tested by the Supreme Court.
- The Decades-Long Battle for the McAleer Tract Ends in Court
After years of tangled legal claims, Judge Hanford rules against the McAleer heirs, clearing the way for new development on a large, vacant stretch of land once visible from the old Lake Washington cable cars.
Also about this, in other words
- The Machine Under Fire
An anonymous letter-writer accuses the local political establishment of corruption, illegal registrations, and voter suppression.
- The Cost of a Bridge Inspection
A protracted dispute over demurrage fees for the Puyallup River bridge reaches a compromise, leaving the contractor in the red.
- The Mayoral Candidate Who Wanted to Open the City’s Books
Running on a platform of transparency, Frank S. Dement challenged the city's plan to purchase the Thomas ranch for $25,000, calling for a 'business administration' that prioritized public oversight.
- The Fugitive Barman of Newport
After dodging a Sunday liquor charge by fleeing the state, a former saloon owner is apprehended upon his return to Newport.
- Demented Girl Rescued from Puyallup Reservation
After being found chained to an outhouse floor, a young Indigenous girl has secured a place at an asylum.
- The Peeping Captain and the Landlady
A Seattle municipal court case reveals a bizarre dispute over a rental property, featuring an spying tenant and allegations of a framed morality crime.
- Democratic Campaigners Hold Curbside Rally
Congress candidate Roscoe M. Drumheller and speaker William Goodyear appeal to Kennewick voters from the seat of an automobile on Second Street.