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In the Media Archive

2008 News

May 29, 2008
Supreme Court Forecast - KUOW
It's Supreme Court season, and the decisions are rolling in. Discussions on the show included terrorism, tax exemptions, and child pornography, as well as a look at the politics of the Court. President Bush appointed two conservative judges. Who will the new president appoint? Guests included law professor Stewart Jay.
May 1, 2008
A Portrait of the WA Supreme Court - KUOW
This year, three of Washington State's nine Supreme Court Justices are up for re–election. To get a pulse of the current court, KUOW correspondent Austin Jenkins recently interviewed several court–watchers, including affiliate law professor Hugh Spitzer.
April 28, 2008
Rights of the Disabled - A Talk With Dick Thornburgh - KPLU
The United Nations' Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities takes effect and the UW School of Law hosted former Pennsylvania Governor, U.S. Attorney General and United Nations Under-Secretary-General Dick Thornburgh for a conference focusing on disability rights.
April 26, 2008
Documents reveal no secret deals in Seattle newspaper settlement - TMC.net
Newly disclosed documents support statements by the owners of Seattle's two daily newspapers that, contrary to a citizens group's suspicions, they made no secret deals when they settled their four-year legal dispute last April. UW School of Law professor Kate O'Neill agreed that the $31 million payment suggests The Times saw a substantial risk that it would lose the arbitration hearing. "That's a big chunk of change," she said.
April 24, 2008
Single Shot: Author urges broader definition of 'family' - Seattle P-I
Nancy Polikoff, author of the recently released "Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law" speaks at the UW School of Law on April 28 as part of the Gates PSL Speaker Series.
April 24, 2008
Get Jesse: Sued for 'OK' eBay feedback - KING 5
If you've used eBay you know you can rate the transaction through a system called feedback. An "OK" transaction left a Seattle man with a hefty legal bill. KING 5's Jesse Jones reports. KING 5 took the lawsuit to UW School of Law professor Jane Winn who said the seller "is a few cards short of a deck."
April 23, 2008
Howard Schultz suit adds fuel to e-mail fire - Seattle Times
Even if the Oklahoma-based owners managed to work an arena deal to keep the Sonics in Seattle, they were ready to do a "sweet flip" and leave town, according to an owner's e-mail cited in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by previous owner Howard Schultz. Joel Ngugi, a UW law professor, said Schultz's legal challenge is a longshot to succeed, though it could inflict the greatest amount of damage on Bennett.
April 17, 2008
Power to the people! It's in the constitution - Crosscut Seattle
Affilate Professor of Law Hugh Spitzer writes about how tinkering with Initiative 601's spending limits takes the Washington Supreme Court to the founding principles of the nation and the Washington constitution.
April 16, 2008
Don't let Sonics go, Gregoire tells NBA - Seattle Times
Legal experts call Schultz suit a long shot - Seattle P-I
Mitch in the Morning - KJR AM
UW School of Law professor Steve Calandrillo talks about the legal aspects of a possible lawsuit by former Seattle Sonics owner Howard Schultz to recover the team from Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.
April 13, 2008
After life sentence, 3 more victims of sex offender - Everett Herald
A sex offender got out of prison on what prosecutors say is a loophole that should be closed. UW School of Law professor John Junker said circumstances of this case put it in the most "contraversial context" and said the courts must balance the need for privacy with the need for criminal control.
April 11, 2008
Law school dean candidate declines position - UW Daily
The UW School of Law is still without a permanent law dean after potential candidate Mary Anne Bobinski, Dean of the University of British Columbia law school, declined to accept the position.
April 6, 2008
Boating Smash-Up Makes a Novel Case - Tacoma News Tribune
A Tacoma attorney has been charged with "assault by watercraft" and wants prosecutors to release his impounded boat to him so his expert can put the vessel into the water to run tests on it, but prosecutor opposes turning the boat over to the defense. UW School of Law professor Robert Aronson calls the dispute "a pretty unique situation."
April 1, 2008
Is It Legal for Different Customers to Receive Different, Customized Sales Offers? The Example of Alaska Airlines, and the Likely Regulatory Response - FindLaw.com
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry, discusses the legal issues surrounding Internet behavioral marketing and, in particular, the practice of retargeting.
March 14, 2008
Pharmacists have professional obligation to serve public - Tacoma News Tribune
In this op-ed, affiliate law professor Hugh Spitzer says Washington state pharmacists are obligated to do what they are licensed to do: fill prescriptions for patients.
March 7, 2008
Intellectual property law connects India to the UW - UW Daily
With India’s emergence as a major economic player comes the need to grapple with obstacles that often confront developing nations, including intellectual property rights. To meet this demand, the UW’s Center for Advanced Study and Research on Intellectual Property, along with the law school’s Intellectual Property Law and Policy Masters of Law LL.M. program has agreed to join forces with the Global Institute of Intellectual Property to provide qualified Indian graduate students with an advance level certificate program on patent and intellectual property.
March 6, 2008
Annual law school environmental conference begins - Oregon Daily Emerald
The annual law school environmental conference at the University of Oregon is a "great way to learn," said UW environmental law professor William Rodgers.
March 1, 2008
Clinic Helps Small Businesses Help Themselves - KCBA Bulletin
The King County bar can play a role in ensuring that small businesses survive by sharing their expertise with the UW Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, which works to identify low-income, minority- and immigrant-owned businesses that would benefit from pro bono legal assistance.
February 29, 2008
On Facebook Forever? Why the Networking Site was Right to Change its Deletion Policies, And Why Its Current Policies Still Pose Privacy Risks - FindLaw.com
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses the social network site Facebook's recent decision to allow users to easily delete -- not just deactivate -- their profiles. Ramasastry explains why the prior policy was so harshly criticized, warns users of social networking sites that they still cannot count on permanent deletion of information from the Web, and describes several related Facebook policies that also arguably compromise user privacy.
February 26, 2008
A Case-by-Case Ruling on Discrimination - New York Times
The Supreme Court ruled that allegations that a plaintiff’s co-workers had also suffered discrimination, offered as evidence of a biased corporate culture, may be admissible in court, some of the time. Under the Supreme Court’s case-by-case approach, plaintiffs will have a greater chance of surviving summary judgment and getting their cases before a jury. “It’s a big deal that portends a real change,” Eric Schnapper, a UW law professor who was one of plaintiff’s lawyers in the case.
February 26, 2008
City police get look at pact their union rejected - Seattle P-I
The Seattle Police Officers' Guild accused Mayor Greg Nickels of attempted "union busting" after police administrators were dispersed to the city's police precincts to present officers a labor contract offer that had been rejected by union leaders. "Hardball" bargaining isn't illegal, but state labor examiners likely would examine the circumstances to determine if the city acted in bad faith, said UW law professor Lea Vaughn.
February 22, 2008
Marc Hershman, 1942-2008: Ocean policy pioneer mentored many - Seattle P-I
Marc Hershman, a man of infectious passion and mentor to many, was the director of the UW School of Marine Affairs for a decade, one of 16 members of the president's U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and an internationally recognized expert in ocean policy. He was also an adjunct law professor and taught in the Law & Marine Affairs LL.M. program. Hershman died Feb. 17 at age 65.
February 20, 2008
Making the Breakup Much Easier - New York Times
Business breakups and other tangles can be avoided with a buy-sell agreement — basically a business prenup or a postnup. UW law professor Samuel Donaldson offers some practical solutions.
February 20, 2008
Shame and the Law - KUOW
Are 'shaming laws' making a comeback? What are the origins of these laws? Should an emotion like shaming play a major role in our legal system today? Do shaming laws work? UW law professor Steve Calandrillo joins University of Chicago law professor Martha Nussbaum and others on Weekday.
February 20, 2008
Searching Laptops at the Border and In Airports: A Disturbing Practice That Imperils Fourth and First Amendment Rights - FindLaw.com
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry, discusses the First and Fourth Amendment issues raises by U.S. government searches of laptops and other electronic devices at international borders and international airports. Ramasastry discusses the recent suit by two public interest groups to enforce a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to disclose government policy regarding this category of searches. She also covers the handful of federal cases, in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits, that have taken on the First and Fourth Amendment issues involved when laptops are searched.
February 19, 2008
Smelter case a big mess in more ways than one - Tacoma News Tribune
“It’s the first statement by an appellate court that a polluter can’t use the border as a shield,” said UW law professor Michael Robinson-Dorn about the hazardous waste generated by a Teck Cominco smelter located in Canada. Heavy metals have leached out of the smelter's slag and accumulated in Washington's Lake Roosevelt.
February 6, 2008
Three firms indicted in pet-food recall case - USA Today
Dongsheng Zang, a UW professor of international law, says because there's no bilateral treaty between the U.S. and China covering these issues, "legally and practically" the indictments of the Chinese companies have no impact.
February 2008
Daylight Saving Time: A Way To Save Lives - KCBA Bulletin
If you’ve never given much thought to Daylight Saving Time beyond replacing smoke alarm batteries, meet UW law professor Steve Calandrillo, who has thought (and written) a lot about DST and this year he would like nothing more than for the entire U.S. to spring ahead — permanently.
January 30, 2008
Foster Care: Worthy legal pilot - Seattle P-I
The UW School of Law's Children and Youth Advocacy Clinic's pilot project to help provide legal representation to kids is discussed in this editorial.
January 29 & 30, 2008
Linebacker discovered joy of learning but had to buck football program that emphasized eligibility, not education - Seattle Times
To Huskies fans a tragic hero, to the courts a wanted felon - Seattle Times
Law professor Rob Aronson, former faculty representative to the Athletic Department, talks about the "pressure to win" mentality and how it compromised academics and integrity in the Seattle Times series about the Husky football team that went to the 2000 Rose Bowl.
January 24, 2008
Second Life Bans Cyber Banks and Unregulated Financial Institutions: Why This Solution May Only Create More Problems, At Least in the Short Term - FindLaw.com
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry, who is currently a visiting law professor at the National University of Ireland-Galway, discusses the recent move by the creators of the virtual world Second Life to ban from the site any bank that is not subject to a real-world regulator.
January 22, 2008
Field of UW law school dean candidates narrowed to 4 - Seattle P-I
Four candidates are being considered to head up the University of Washington's School of Law, and they will visit the Seattle campus for interviews.
January 22, 2008
Pass the bill - Seattle Times
Emeritus law professor William Angersen writes about SSB 5278 which concerns the use of public funds to finance campaigns for local office.
January 10, 2008
Kenya in Crisis - KUOW
Law professor Joel Ngugi joins Weekday's Steve Scher and other guests to discuss recent developments in Kenya.
January 9, 2008
CellCyte shares plummet; questions raised about CEO's bio - Seattle Times
Inaccurate biographical information in SEC filings, such as the recent allegations that involve CellCyte co-founder and Chief Executive Gary Reys, could open the door to legal action from shareholders, said UW law professor Sean O'Connor.
January 9, 2008
New DNA Methods Could Throw More Convictions Into Doubt - Seattle Weekly
A feature which includes the story of Ted Bradford who, with the help of law students in the UW Innocence Project Northwest clinic and professor Jackie McMurtrie, had his criminal conviction reversed based on DNA evidence not available at the time of conviction.
January 9, 2008
Why Amazon Was Right to Raise a First Amendment Objection to A Subpoena for Its Customer Records in a Tax Fraud Case - FindLaw.com
UW law professor Anita Ramasastry, who is currently a visiting law professor at the National University of Ireland-Galway, discusses a Wisconsin federal magistrate judge's decision to uphold Amazon customers' First Amendment rights in the face of a federal government subpoena.
January 8, 2008
Sobriety checks would need judges' OK, Gregoire says - Everett Herald
Law professor John Junker says data shows that 1 percent of people stopped at checkpoints are arrested. "On that grounds, it doesn't seem like a very effective way to use (police) resources," he said.
January 7, 2008
Questions and answers about the conflict in Kenya - Seattle Times
Law professor Sylvia Kang'ara, who grew up in Kenya's Rift Valley, answers questions regarding the recent chaos and violence in Kenya.
January 6, 2008
Kenyans hear of harrowing violence from home - Seattle Times
Law professor Joel Ngugi is one of the many Kenya natives in Seattle hearing reports of atrocities from friends and family in Kenya.
January 5, 2008
Options for a solution to the post-election crisis - Daily Nation (Kenya)
Law professor Joel Ngugi discusses the recent violence in Kenya.
January 2, 2008
Civilian Police and Rule of Law Programs - U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State's Fact Sheet about the program which supports the UW Asian Law Center's Afghan Legal Educators Project, an initiative to train Afghanistan’s law deans and law professors.