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In the Media Archive

2009 News

September 21, 2009
Auto industry trying new incentives to sell more cars - KING 5
General Motors ads are blitzing the air waves offering a 60-day money-back guarantee on new vehicles. King 5's Jesse Jones took GM's 60-day satisfaction guarantee offer to UW associate dean and contract law professor Steve Calandrillo, who said, "I think it's a pretty square deal with consumers."
September 17, 2009
R-71 ruling may not threaten open-government laws - Seattle P-I
When a federal judge ruled that 1st Amendment rights could be violated if names on R-71 petitions were made public, some feared that people might successfully challenge provisions that disclose campaign and lobbyist spending. Such fears are probably overblown, said UW law professor Stewart Jay, who added he believed the judge's ruling on Referendum 71 would survive an appeal.
September 13, 2009
Feds unhappy with city attorney - Spokesman-Review
In documents filed recently in U.S. District Court, federal prosecutors describe a pattern of behavior by Assistant Spokane City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi that raises questions about whether the city actively sought to interfere with a federal investigation. UW law professor Rob Aronson said that if the actions described in court documents are accurate, it appears to be misuse of a public position.
September 4, 2009
Heartbreak over Heartland: Why Prosecution for Data Breaches Isn't Enough - FindLaw
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses the lessons that can be drawn from the recent indictments, by the U.S. Department of Justice, of three hackers in connection with what is reportedly the largest data breach that has occurred thus far in U.S. history.
August 28, 2009
Puget Sound Business Journal
UW’s Gates aid gives public-service lawyers a good start
Law schools must work harder to place new grads, interns
Loan plan helps graduates work in public interest law
The Gates PSL Program, the new federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and the UW School of Law's success at placing law graduates with careers are featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal's special law issue.
August 18, 2009
Miami Man Charged In Major Identity Theft Case - NPR
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry talks about the Heartland identity theft case with NRP.
August 12, 2009
New student regent selected - The Daily
UW law student Ben Golden, a second-year law student, has been appointed to the position of 2009-2010 student regent by the Office of Gov. Chris Gregoire.
August 11, 2009
Why Courts Need to Ban Jurors' Electronic Communications Devices - FindLaw
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry takes a look around the country to see how different jurisdictions are dealing with the same problem: jurors using their cellphones and other electronic devices.
August 2009
Legal Education at the Crossroads - King County Bar Bulletin
Dean Kellye Y. Testy writes about the challenges facing legal education today.
August 2009
Taking Legal Education Outside the Classroom - King County Bar Bulletin
Thirty years ago, the UW School of Law embarked on an experiment in legal education, leading to the creation of the school's first clinical law program.
July 21, 2009
Bitter Foes Microsoft and Linux Unite Against Software Rules - National Law Journal
New rules for software contracts put out by The American Law Institute have united Microsoft and Linux as part of a growing protest of tech companies and their lawyers. UW law professor Jane Winn, who was an adviser on a multiyear project for guidelines to clarify software contract law, said leaving this type of software product liability up to the court system isn't the right call because of the complexity in figuring out what and who is responsible for software that doesn't work.
July 10, 2009
Car insurance patents threaten consumer choice - Insure.com
UW law professor Sean O’Connor, said as result of a major decision handed down last fall by the US Court of Appeals (known as the Bilksi ruling), unless a would-be "business method" involves a new machine method, or transforms physical matter from one state to another, it can no longer be patented.
July 9, 2009
Supreme Court Roundup - KUOW
UW law professor Stewart Jay joins Weekday to talk about recent Supreme Court decisions and Sonia Sotomayor's nomination.
June 30, 2009
Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of White Firefighters - NPR
UW law professor Eric Schnapper said of the US Supreme Court ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano: "This case could be the Fred Thompson of the court's term: much anticipated but quickly forgotten." Because most agencies don't promote solely on the results of test scores anymore, it will make a big difference in a small number of cases.
June 28, 2009
Consumers Opt For Debit Over Credit Cards - NPR
Americans' preferred form of plastic is now the debit card. UW law professor Anita Ramasastry, says debit cards have caught on partly because they look so similar to familiar old credit cards. But the fraud protections for the two types of cards aren't necessarily the same.
June 25, 2009
Lawyer off case for city - Spokesman-Review
UW law professor Robert Aronson discusses the ethics of Spokane City Council's paying a private attorney who longer represents them.
June 23, 2009
Reports Fan Flames of Speculation Over Steve Jobs' Health - MacNewsWorld
UW law professor Sean O'Connor on the issue of Steve Jobs' health and Apple's legal woes: "What you have, basically, is a company that doesn't have a duty to disclose just anything the shareholders would want to know. But once it does start disclosing something that is material to the shareholders, it can't do it halfway and can't do anything that misrepresents the truth."
June 14, 2009
Access to DNA Testing - KPLU
The Washington State Supreme Court rejected a request in a case involving DNA testing. UW School of Law Professor Jackie McMurtrie and Innocence Project Northwest director points out that more than 200 people nationwide have had their convictions overturned through DNA testing.
June 2009
Testy Tapped As New UW Law Dean - KCBA Bar Bulletin
University of Washington Provost Phyllis Wise has announced that Kellye Testy, who currently is dean and professor of law at Seattle University, will become dean of the UW School of Law, effective Sept. 1.
June 2009
UW Law Launches Health LL.M. - KCBA Bar Bulletin
The UW School of Law has unveiled a new graduate program in health law that harnesses the assets of the university’s internationally known schools of law, medicine, health and public policy.
June 2009
Face Time: Doing What Needs To Be Done - Columns
Since 1997, when UW law professor Jackie McMurtrie established the Innocence Project Northwest Clinic at the UW School of Law, she and her students have helped exonerate 13 wrongfully convicted people. She spoke about the project with Columns Co-Editor Eric McHenry.
Coverage of Three Degrees: The Law of Climate Change and Human Rights Conference
Connecting polar bears to people - Real Change
Think of the children, or think of your ski trip: Two ways to tell the climate story - Grist
Using Human Rights Law to Address Climate Change - WorldChanging
Can human rights be the climate movement's moral guide? - Grist
Conference examines human-rights side of climate change - The Daily
The UW School of Law hosted Three Degrees May 28 and 29, a UW law student-led effort to develop a legal system addressing the impacts of climate change on human rights.
May 28, 2009
Diabetes stem-cell treatment looks to cell capsules - Nature
UW law professor Sean O'Connor talks about the intellectual property dispute between two companies over stem cell patents.
May 14, 2009
UW picks new law school dean - Seattle Times
Seattle U law dean moving to UW - Seattle P-I
New law school dean chosen after 2-year search - The Daily
Deans appointed at Univ. of Washington and St. John's University - National Law Journal
Testy named new University of Washington law school dean - Puget Sound Business Journal
Seattle University dean to be UW Law School dean - Tacoma News Tribune
After a search lasting two years and spanning North America, the University of Washington has finally picked a new law dean — and she comes from right across town. Kellye Testy, Seattle University's law dean since 2005, was as UW dean of the law school by the university's Board of Regents. She is the first female dean in the 110-year history of the UW School of Law.
May 11, 2009
Brieant Fellowship Awarded to UW Law Student Hai-Ching Yang - New York State Bar Association
Hai-Ching Yang, a student at the UW School of Law, has been chosen as the inaugural Hon. Charles L. Brieant, Jr. Fellow. The fellowship is administered by The New York Bar Foundation.
April 20, 2009
Religious right not united in push to repeal benefits for gay couples - Seattle Times
Peter Nicolas, a UW law professor, said Washington senate bill 5688, which extends to same-sex couples all the state-given benefits of marriage previously reserved for opposite-sex couple, would not help same-sex couples legal argument in court — but might hurt it.
April 27, 2009
Was Brooke Astor Competent When She Changed Her Will? - AARP
What was the mental condition of Manhattan socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor when she changed her will in the final years of her life? The burden of proof will be on her son, Anthony Marshall, to prove that his mother hadn't slipped into extreme dementia when changes to her will favoring him, says Karen Boxx, chair of the American Bar Association's Elder Law group and a professor at the UW School of Law.
April 20, 2009
Not guilty? Experts seek post-conviction DNA reviews - seattlepi.com
As the state Supreme Court prepares to issue a decision that could allow for more post-conviction evidence review, a group of Washington legal minds is calling for greater efforts to prevent wrongful convictions. Advocates often cite the case of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, who spoke at the UW School of Law as part of the Gates Public Service Law Program.
April 7, 2009
AP Throws Down Gauntlet to Online News Aggregators - eCommerce News
The Associated Press says it will pursue legal action again on-line news aggregators. "This is a business model battle," said UW School of Law professor Kate O'Neill.
April 7, 2009
Some car company offering payment assistance plans - KING5
A number of car makers are offering to make your car payments if you lose our job. UW School of Law professor Steve Calandrillo says the plans he reviewed helps consumers feel confident enough to buy a car.
April 3, 2009
Obstacles challenge proposals to create an income-tax on the wealthy - Seattle Times
A 1933 Washington State Supreme Court ruling says income tax must apply equally to everyone, rich or poor. The ruling said income is a form of property and therefore an income tax is essentially a property tax, said Hugh Spitzer, a UW School of Law affiliate law professor. "The state constitution says that property taxes have to be uniform on every class of property, and property taxes cannot exceed 1 percent of the value of property," Spitzer said.
March 31, 2009
Crimes Complaint Center Says Cyber Crime Is Up - NPR
UW School of Law professor Anita Ramasastry says fraudulent posts on Craigslist are harder to prosecute than most other crimes - the victims can be anywhere and so can perpetrators.
March 26, 2009
Can NEPA pass tests posed by climate-related projects? - New York Times
UW School of Law professor Bill Rodgers says that the ultimate test of NEPA could come as a result of climate change.
March 24, 2009
Is Facebook's New "Bill of Rights" a Lasting Policy Change? - FindLaw
UW School of Law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses Facebook's actions in the wake of the controversy over its changing its Terms of Service, without direct notice to its users and in a way that purported to give Facebook a perpetual license to posted content, even when users had left the service.
March 22, 2009
School hosts free speech forum - Juneau Empire
UW School of Law professor Stewart Jay moderated a free speech forums as part of the settlement agreement in the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.
March 20, 2009
SpiralFrog DRM music to play 60 days, then vanish - CNET
The Federal Trade Commission is holding a conference on the use of digital rights management at the UW School of Law this Wednesday, March 25, 2009.
March 20, 2009
How Does Blood Money Work? - Slate
UW School of Law professor Clark Lombardi helps explain the the tradition of blood-money payments, or diyya.
March 16, 2009
Patriot or crackpot? Seattle man's mission to prosecute Bush - Seattle Times
Seattle's Bob Alexander has rounded up volunteers and donations to indict President Bush. UW School of Law Harry Cross Visiting Professor Peter Arenella said there is a complete absence of any political will to pursue a criminal prosectuion against Bush.
March 10, 2009
Sunwest Management investors want judge disqualified in securities fraud case - Oregonian
Lawyers say U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan should recuse himself because of his involvement as a mediator in the bankruptcy case of retirement company's ex-CEO. UW School of Law professor Alan Kirtley, said Hogan's insider knowledge of the case provides the banks their most potent argument.
March 3, 2009
Perspectives on Afghanistan - KUOW
What's happening on the ground in Afghanistan? UW School of Law professor Clark Lombardi, who works with the Afghan government to revise its commercial laws and trains Afghan legal educators at the UW, was a guest on The Conversation.
February 11, 2009
Contractor hired by Army defends extravagant dinners - Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)
UW School of Law professor Steve Calandrillo explains that reciepts submitted by a contractor may not seem like "management expenses", under a fixed-price contract, "you're entitled to the money as long as you do all the work."
February 10, 2009
Columbia salmon plan goes before judge for third try - Seattle Times
Judge James Redden is expected to rule on a federal plan for Columbia River dam operations while simultaneously reviving sickly salmon runs in early March. "Judge Redden is now the latest of a long series of magnificently independent federal judges," said Bill Rodgers, a UW School of Law professor of environmental law.
January 2009
In Person: Robert W. Gomulkiewicz - Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice
An interview with UW School of Law professor Robert Gomulkiewicz.
January 29, 2009
Bankruptcy option for the Seattle Times? Not easy. - Crosscut
Rumors continue to fly around the blogosphere that The Seattle Times Co. is preparing to file Chapter 11. "You still need to find people to pony up the cash to help you reorganize," said UW law professor Sean O’Connor and, in the case of the Times Co., that could be tough sell.
January 29, 2009
School of Law looks back on 30 years of clinical training - UWeek
The UW School of Law's clinical law program started 30 years ago with 10 students. Today, more than 60 percent of UW law students enroll in a clinic before graduation.
January 26, 2009
Court Rules For Worker In Retaliation Case - NPR
Court Expands Ability to Sue in Sexual Harassment Investigations - New York Times
Supreme Court finds for workplace whistle-blower - CNN
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of UW law professor Eric Schnapper's client, stating that workers who cooperate with their employers' internal investigations of discrimination may not be fired in retaliation for implicating colleagues or superiors.
January 26, 2009
Imparting Some Shame to Those Who Trade in Greed - New York Times
Should the string of prominent people behaving "shamefully" be publicly shamed? If they are, others may think twice about their own actions said UW law professor Steve Calandrillo in this op-ed piece.
January 26, 2009
Showdown Averted in News Site Link Dispute - E-Commerce Times
Gatehouse Media announced a settlement in its copyright infringement suit against the New York Times Co., owners of the Boston Globe and Boston.com. "You don't necessarily want lawyers and courts running your economy," Kate O'Neill, UW law professor.
January 24, 2009
Guest Columnist: New regime has to deal with past abuses - Seattle P-I
UW law professor Eric Schnapper offers a legal perspective in this op-ed on how the Obama administration may have to deal with individuals suspected of participation or complicity in terrorism or terrorist organizations.
January 24, 2009
Contractor files lien on Museum Plaza project - Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Full text article no longer available
The general contractor on the stalled Museum Plaza skyscraper complex claims the developers are $2.3 million behind on payments and has filed a mechanics lien. "You know, any time you see the filing of mechanics' liens it indicates there's potential trouble on the project and that the contractor is nervous that they might not get paid," said UW law professor Steve Calandrillo.
January 15, 2009
Apple's disclosures about Jobs might draw lawsuits - AP
Issues surrounding the disclosure of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' health is a "nightmare scenario" for Apple lawyers, said UW law professor Sean O'Connor.
January 15, 2009
Investigators: Amanda Knox trial could take months - KING5
Italian lawyer and UW School of Law visiting scholar Luca Escoffier talks about the criminal court system and murder trial process UW student Amanda Knox faces in Perugia, Italy.
January 15, 2009
Dog owner says rules about droppings stink - Seattle Times
In 2007, Seattle issued 65 citations related to dog poop. It turns out that dog-scoop laws are studied in a law and economics class taught by UW law professor Steve Calandrillo.
January 12, 2009
Ruling near on state's plan to seize domain names - Computer World
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry said if the Kentucky Court of Appeals upholds a ruling on whether a state court can order the seizure of Internet domain names that are registered in another state or country is probably unenforceable because all of the Web sites are registered outside of Kentucky.