In the Media Archive

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2010 News

• July 16, 2010
  Americans With Disabilities Act Turns 20 - KUOW
  Law professor Paul Steven Miller joins The Conversation in a discussion about the state of disability rights in the U.S. 20 years after the passage of the American With Disabilities Act.
• July 14, 2010
  Jesse's Tips: How long is a 'lifetime'? - KING 5
  Jesse Jones talks to UW law professor Steve Calandrillo about "lifetime" contracts. Calandrillo says that these type of contracts can be deceptive because lifetime really means the life of the business, not the customer.
• July 12, 2010
  Charges for 'Barefoot Bandit' in Bahamas - KING 5
  Charges filed in the Bahamas against Colton Harris-Moore, the alleged "Barefoot Bandit," will take priority over those in the U.S., said UW law professor Mary Fan. But, given that Harris-Moore faces a longer sentence in the U.S., she said it could be more cost effective to "send him home."
• July 12, 2010
  Bid for Trophy Becomes a Test of Iroquois Identity - New York Times
  The Iroquois national lacrosse team's trip to the world championships has been delayed due to a documentation dispute with the British consulate over American Indian sovereignty. UW's Native American Law Center director, Robert Anderson, said he has not heard of the U.S. government objecting to the use of Indian nation-issued passports in the past.
• July 10, 2010
  Judge Who? - The Daily News (Longview, Wash.)
  "It's a tough thing to ask the voters to do," said law professor William Andersen on the subject of judicial elections. Anderson's article, "Judicial Selection in Washington â€" Taking Elections Seriously," was recently published in the Seattle University Law Review.
• July 8, 2010
  Judge in Boston says gay-marriage ban unconstitutional - Seattle Times
  UW law professor Peter Nicolas said that a judge's ruling that the federal law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional is significant because "right now, married couples in states that recognize same-sex marriage do get some rights from state governments. But the bulk of the rights associated with marriage are granted by the federal government."
• June 30, 2010
  Income-tax battle expected to be costly, maybe nasty - Seattle Times
  In regards to I-1098, it's been conventional wisdom that an income tax in Washington State targeting high-income earners wouldn't be allowed without a change in the state constitution. That's because a 1933 court ruling said an income tax is essentially a form of property tax and must apply equally to everyone, rich or poor, said Hugh Spitzer, a UW affiliate law professor.
• June 28, 2010
  Ice Cream Stop Put East Bremerton Murder Suspect Back in Kitsap County Jail - Kitsap Sun
  UW School of Law professor Mary Fan said the recent release of a woman accused in the shooting death of her husband was unusual due to the involvement of the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office.
• June 28, 2010
  Harvard officials defend Kagan on Indian issues - Indian Country
  With Elena Kagan's Senate confirmation hearing looming, top Harvard University officials are defending her record on Native American issues. Law professor Robert Anderson who directs the UW's Native American Law Center, was selected after Kagan's tenure to hold a 5-year guest position as Harvard's Oneida chair. Anderson said Kagan's actions were consistent with what a dean could do in her position.
• June 24, 2010
  Ref. 71 signatures are public, Supreme Court rules - Seattle Times
  The battle over whether to release Referendum 71 petition signatures is not over. Law professor Stewart Jay said he believes the plaintiffs could be successful in demonstrating that they have a "reasonable probability" of being subjected to harassment.
• June 17, 2010
  Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over Candy - KUOW
  Seattle-based Amazon is facing a $5 million lawsuit because of a dispute over Smarties candy. Law, Technology & Arts Group Associate Director Signe Naeve says the suit touches on the question of what obligations internet retailers have in policing their websites.
• June 16, 2010
  Full 11th Circuit Wrestles With Home Depot Sex Harassment Suit - National Law Journal
  Law professor Eric Schnapper is counsel to the plaintiffs in Corbitt v. Home Depot USA, a case which involves claims that a Home Depot manager made sexual advances toward two employees. Schnapper told the 11th Circuit that comparing Corbitt to Reeves v. C. H. Robinson Worldwide was like comparing "apples and oranges," because Reeves dealt with profane language, whereas in the Home Depot case Cavaluzzi made "sexual remarks."
• June 10, 2010
  Exxon still owes $92 million for Alaska spill - Seattle PI
  UW School of Law professor Bill Rodgers remarked the other day that Exxon still owes $92 million from the 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound. Seattle PI columnist Joel Connelly writes that it is estimated that 72 million gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico from April 20 to June 3 - six times as much as officially spilled out of the Exxon Valdez.
• June 7, 2010
  Redmond received commission from U.S. Navy - Morning Sentinal (Maine)
  Lisa Redmond '10, a 2003 Skowhegan Area High School graduate, received a commission from the U.S. Navy and was sworn in under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
• June 2010
  Trials By Fire - Columns
  This year, law students in Afghanistan competed in the world's largest moot court competition, with a little help from the UW School of Law's Afghan Legal Educators Project. The students survived a suicide attack and the winners went on to compete in Washington, DC.
• May 16, 2010
  Attorneys weigh in on judging Supreme Court pick - Everett Herald
  Law professor Kathryn Watts, who clerked for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, talks about the relevancy of Supreme Court nominee and former Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan's personal life.
• May 14, 2010
  Poor women have little access to health service - The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
  Gender-biased policies and poor implementation of health laws hinder the fulfillment of women's rights to adequate medical services, a study has found. The research was conducted by Uplift International, a Seattle-based NGO that works with the UW Global Health and Justice Project, in collaboration with NGOs in Indonesia.
• May, 2010
  Profile of Bill Rodgers: The Father of Environmental Law - KCBA Bar Bulletin
  Although he'd never use the phrase himself, UW law professor William (Bill) Rodgers, who has inspired generations of lawyers, is considered by many to be the "father" of environmental law — a distinction that causes him some embarrassment.
• April 21, 2010
  Supreme Court takes up Wash. case involving disclosure of petition signatures - Seattle Times
  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Washington state case on whether signing a petition for a ballot measure is a private, political act. UW School of Law professor Stewart Jay says that while the Court has never ruled on what it means to sign a ballot petition, it has ruled that gathering petition signatures is core political speech, protected under the First Amendment.
• April 21, 2010
  UW's Innocence Project Secures Two More Conviction Reversals
  DNA evidence frees 2 imprisoned for rape - KGW
  Judge overturns rape convictions after DNA re-analyzed - KATU
  Judge vacates convictions based on new DNA testing - Columbian
  Clark County Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard has vacated the sentences of Alan G. Northrop and Larry W. Davis, both convicted of rape and burglary in 1993, as a result of DNA testing not available at the time of their original trial. Students, faculty, staff, and volunteer attorneys with the UW School of Law Innocence Project Northwest worked on the case and were present when Judge Woolard announced her decision.
• April 21, 2010
  Is Health Care Reform Constitutional? - National Jurist
  Acting assistant professor of law Sallie Sanford says that although challenges to the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are valuable for inspiring dialogue within and outside the legal community, they are unlikely to succeed in the face of decades of Supreme Court case law.
• April 20, 2010
  State voters could see income-tax initiative for wealthy - Seattle Times
  Affiliate law professor Hugh Spitzer discusses previous court rulings on the issue of a state income tax, a tax law school alumnus Bill Gates Sr. '50 is advocating for in an initiative campaign.
• April 19, 2010
  Supreme Court to review Proctor Hospital's firing of Army reservist - Journal Star (Illinois)
  The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a former Proctor Hospital employee was fired because of his military service. The court's decision will also resolve a long-standing legal issue which has divided the nation's appellate courts for the last decade. "I guess they were waiting for the right case to come along to settle the matter," said law professor Eric Schnapper.
• April 18, 2010
  Legal expert: Potential problems with panhandling bill - Seattle P-I
  While courts have generally upheld ordinances designed to curb panhandling, UW School of Law professor Stewart Jay says specific passages in a measure the Seattle City Council is considering could run afoul of the First Amendment.
• April 16, 2010
  Viacom Claims Google Used Piracy Threat as Leverage - e-Commerce Times
  In a lawsuit against Google and YouTube, Viacom claims Google tried to strong-arm media content owners into favorable licensing deals by using the threat of content theft. Depositions, memos, and slide presentations potentially weaken Google's claims that it is protected by portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, said UW School of Law's Robert Gomulkiewicz.
• April 9, 2010
  DNA Retrial - KCTS 9 Connects
  With help from the UW School of Law Innocence Project Northwest, Ted Bradford's rape and burglary charges were reversed as a result of DNA testing not available at the time he was convicted.
• April 7, 2010
  In Our View: Modern Microscopes - Columbian
  This op-ed discusses the new technological developments in DNA testing on the American judicial system, as illustrated by the recent request by the UW School of Law Innocence Project Northwest for a new trial for two men convicted in 1993 of attacking a woman, because newly discovered DNA evidence could exonerate the two men.
• April 6, 2010
  Innocence Project requests new trial in 1993 break-in, rape - Columbian
  Students and volunteer attorneys with the UW School of Law Innocence Project Northwest have asked for a new trial for two men convicted in 1993 of attacking a woman. The basis for the request is the result of newly discovered DNA evidence that could exonerate the two men.
• March 30, 2010
  UW panelists say lawsuits challenging health bill lack merit - Seattle Times
  Addressing the debate on the constitutional status of health reform, the UW School of Law presents "Is Health Care Reform Constitutional?", a discussion featuring a roundtable of distinguished law faculty.
• March 29, 2010
  Crosscut Tout: Is Obamacare constitutional? - Crosscut
  Admirably current, the UW School of Law is holding an expert roundtable Tuesday afternoon (3/30) on the hot topic, "Is Health Care Reform Constitutional?"
• March 28, 2010
  Laptops in Class: A Professional Virus - Huffington Post
  Law professor Maureen Howard discusses laptops in university classrooms. "I imagine the passengers on flight 1549--last year's 'Miracle on the Hudson'--were grateful that Captain Chelsey 'Sully' Sullenberger not only paid attention to his instructors back in flight school, but that he didn't elect to download a Kim Kardashian video during the flight because he tired of the aerial view of New Jersey."
• March 23, 2010
  Republican McKenna has Olympia Democrats seeing red - Seattle Times
  Can McKenna's Lawsuit Be Stopped? - The Stranger
  UW School of Law affiliate professor and Washington state constitution expert Hugh Spitzer explains that Washington state law says the attorney general can represent the state "in all cases in which the state is interested."
• March 23, 2010
  Legal Experts Disagree On Health Overhaul Lawsuit's Chances - KPLU
  Legal Challenge To Health Care Reform - KUOW
  UW School of Law professor and former assistant attorney general Sallie Sanford explains the legal principles at stake in Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna's challenge to the constitutionality of health insurance reform.
• March 22, 2010
  New health-care reform law is constitutional - Seattle Times
  Cox is playing politics with health bill - Lansing State Journal (Mich.)
  John McKay: McKenna's health care suit has no legal standing - KIRO
  UW expert: McKenna health care lawsuit 'meritless' - Seattle PI
  McCollum's quixotic quest - Herald-Tribune (Florida)
  UW law professor: No basis for health care challenge - KIRO
  Court rulings affirm mandated health insurance is constitutional - McClatchy Newspapers
  UW School of Law professor Stewart Jay explains why Congress has the constitutional power to require Americans to carry health insurance.
• March 18, 2010
  Patent Office re-exams may complicate VirnetX lawsuits - Seattle PI
  VirnetX won patent-infringement verdict against Microsoft, but the Redmond software giant has won key decisions from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that could invalidate the verdict. But don't get too excited just yet, law professor Sean O'Connor said. "The non-final action makes big statements about it, but I wouldn't pop out the champagne corks right now."
• March 17, 2010
  The Best Prosecutor? Perhaps a Defense Attorney - Huffington Post
  Law professor and former prosecutor Maureen Howard proposes that Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance's controversial creation of an investigative prosecution fairness unit is an overdue testimonial to the fact that a prosecutor's loyalties are not undivided. "Vance's experiences as a defense lawyer seem to have well-informed his decision to create a systematic program that benefits defendants as well as the community."
• March 15, 2010
  Home Depot Sex Harassment Suit Given a Third Shot - National Law Journal
  Court overturns own ruling in Home Depot lawsuit - Mobile Press-Register (Ala.)
  A lawsuit against The Home Depot by two male former store managers who accuse their boss of creating a hostile work environment with repeated unwanted advances took an unusual turn when the appeals court threw out its previous ruling on the case. UW School of Law professor Eric Schnapper argued that the 11th Circuit's approach to hostile work environment claims conflicts with other appeals courts and the Atlanta appeals judges substituted their own judgment for that of a jury.
• March 14, 2010
  Clergy dispute Mercer Island's Tent City rules - Seattle Times
  Clergy on Mercer Island want the city to change a new ordinance aimed at regulating homeless encampments like Tent City 4, arguing the city's new rules limit their constitutional right to minister to the homeless. Constitutional law professor Stewart Jay agreed, saying the ordinance, passed by the city council last month, "trampled all over the church's rights."
• March 11, 2010
  MASTER MEDIATORS - UWeek
  UW School of Law students Charlotte Williams and Joel Emans won the regional American Bar Association Mediation Competition held at the University of Oregon School of Law last weekend.
• March 5, 2010
  Add income tax on wealthy to cut sales tax for everyone - Seattle Times
  The Washington state Supreme Court ruled in 1933 that an income tax must apply equally to everyone, rich or poor. That ruling said income is a form of property and therefore an income tax is essentially a property tax, said Hugh Spitzer, UW affiliate law professor.
• March 5, 2010
  Legal Talk with Seattle Seahawks RB Justin Forsett and DT Brandon Mebane - Bleacher Report
  The Sports and Entertainment Law Association at the UW School of Law hosted a panel discussion on sports law, which included Seattle Seahawks teammates Justin Forsett and Brandon Mebane, sports attorney Jeff Miller, and sports agent Noah Croom.
• March 4, 2010
  Lilly Ledbetter and the Fair Pay Act - KUOW
  Lilly Ledbetter and Paul Miller, law professor and Director of the UW Disability Studies Program, speak on Weekday about the Fair Pay Act, the first piece of legislation signed by President Obama.
• March 3, 2010
  PAROLED – An interview with Tony Ng - NW Asian Weekly
  Tony Ng, a Hong Kong-native convicted of robbery for his participation in the 1983 Wah Mee Massacre, was found to be parolable this month, making him eligible to serve the last part of his sentence. UW School of Law faculty member Tom Cobb spoke about how a person's criminal background could affect their immigration status.
• March 3, 2010
  Developmentally Disabled Man Hit With Cell Phone Fees - KIRO 7
  A developmentally disabled man's family is challenging his cell phone contract early termination fees. Paul Miller, law professor and Director of the UW Disability Studies Program, said given the man's disability, there's evidence he didn't understand the contract and the cell phone company "should have said, 'our mistake, this really wasn't a valid contract to begin with, let's forget the whole thing and go our separate ways."
• March 2010
  Huskies in Haiti - Columns
  Stephanie Kotecki '08 was in her Port-au-Prince apartment Jan. 12 when plates and dishes began crashing down around her. The 31-year-old U.S. State Department foreign-service officer had been in Haiti for only about six months when a 7.0 earthquake devastated the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.
• February 21, 2010
  Becker trial: What is insanity? - Des Moines Register
  UW School of Law professor James Hardisty explains the insanity defense, stating that society believes that when a defendant knows what they did was wrong, they are to blame for what happened. If society believes that "the defendant meets certain criteria — that they didn't know what they were doing — then the defendant ought not to be stigmatized in that way."
• February 11, 2010
  Jurors find Bradford innocent of rape - Yakima Herald
  After less than five hours of deliberation, jurors found Ted Bradford, a client of the School of Law'sInnocence Project Northwest, not guilty of first-degree rape and burglary.
• February 2, 2010
  A Commitment to Serving Others - Latina Style
  Third-year law student Alena Suazo reflects on how being Latina has shaped her law school experience and how she has a responsibility to "serve and bring up those behind me."
• February 1, 2010
  For scofflaws, a public mea culpa - Boston Globe
  Several legal scholars, including Associate Dean and Charles I. Stone Professor of Law Steve Calandrillo, favor Massachusetts approach to shaming corporations that violate environmental laws through public apologies in newspaper ads.
• February 2010
  Civil Legal Representation and Access to Justice in Washington - WSBA Bar News
  UW School of Law Dean Kellye Y. Testy writes about the need for civil legal representation, an issue that the state's three law schools will take on in discussions at a February 19 symposium.