courts Archives | Northwest Public Broadcasting

Criminal Defendants In Limbo As Trials Put On Hold During Pandemic

By PBS Newshour May 22, 2020

Interior of an empty courtroom with gavel and sounding block on the desk.

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down courtrooms around the country, criminal defense attorneys had to quickly figure out how to continue to serve their clients. Over the last two months, a combination of factors have delayed court proceedings, leaving criminal defendants in limbo as they wait for their stalled cases to move forward. Read More

Washington Supreme Court Denies Prisoners’ Request For Release Over Coronavirus Fears

By NWPB News April 24, 2020

Debra Stephens, Chief Justice of the Washington state Supreme Court, appears on a TV livestream of court proceedings, April 23, 2020, as the Court hears oral arguments in a case that addressed the safety of prison inmates during the coronavirus outbreak.

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, said that the prisoners who had sued failed to show that the Department of Corrections was not properly addressing the risk of COVID-19. Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Denies Read More

Washington Has A New State Supreme Court Justice: Judge Helen Whitener

By Austin Jenkins April 13, 2020

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Helen Whitener has been appointed to an open seat on the Washington Supreme Court.

Helen Whitener, who is originally from Trinidad, is believed to be only the second Black justice -- and the first Black woman -- to ever serve on the state’s high court, according to a spokesperson for the Supreme Court. Continue Reading Read More

Supreme Court Allows States To Virtually Eliminate The Insanity Defense

By NPR News March 24, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. CREDIT: Patrick Semansky/AP

By a 6-to-3 vote, the court essentially allows consideration of mental status only at sentencing. Dissenters accuse the majority of abandoning centuries of Anglo-American law. Continue Reading Supreme Court Allows States To Virtually Read More

Debra Stephens Elected As New Chief Justice Of Washington Supreme Court

By NWPB News November 7, 2019

Justice Debra Stephens speaks from the bench during a Washington Supreme Court hearing in Olympia, Wash. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, Stephens was elected by her fellow members of the state Supreme Court to be the new chief justice. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Stephens, 54, will replace current Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, who announced last month she will retire from the high court in January to focus on her health as she fights a third bout of cancer. Continue Reading Debra Stephens Elected Read More

Judges Ask ICE to Make Courts Off Limits To Immigration Arrests

By NPR News December 13, 2018

The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys along with dozens of unions, immigrant rights organizations, and community groups held a rally on December 7, 2017 at Brooklyn Borough Hall to call on the Office of Court Administration and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to prohibit Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents from entering state courthouses, and to end coordination with ICE. Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

For 25 years, schools, hospitals and places of worship have effectively been off-limits to federal immigration officers. Now, a group of dozens of former state and federal judges is asking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to add courthouses to the list of "sensitive locations" where their officers generally do not go. Read More

Washington State Supreme Court Strikes Down Death Penalty

By NWPB News October 11, 2018

Washington State Supreme Court building in Olympia. CREDIT: TONY OVERMAN

The Washington state Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty Thursday, Oct. 11, and converted all death sentences to life in prison. Continue Reading Washington State Supreme Court Strikes Down Death PenaltyRead More