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UW Law in the Media

• New lawsuit challenges constitutionality of Washington’s ‘millionaires tax’
  Apr 09, 2026 | Source: KUOW

  Former Attorney General Rob McKenna and the Citizens Action Defense Fund have officially filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Washington’s newly passed income tax on high earners, also known as the “millionaires tax.” Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.

• WA Supreme Court to consider Let's Go Washington lawsuit challenging 'millionaires tax'
  Apr 06, 2026 | Source: KUOW

  Washington’s Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on the constitutionality of a portion of the recently passed income tax on high earners, also known as the “millionaires tax.” Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.

• Penalties stack up as AI spreads through the legal system
  Apr 03, 2026 | Source: NPR

  When it comes to using AI, it seems some lawyers just can't help themselves. Last year saw a rapid increase in court sanctions against attorneys for filing briefs containing errors generated by artificial intelligence tools. Carla Wale, associate dean of information and technology and director of the law library at the UW School of Law, is quoted.

• Washington banned masked law enforcement. ICE agents are still covering their faces — can anyone enforce them?
  Apr 02, 2026 | Source: KING

  Just two weeks after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a law banning face masks for law enforcement, a photo from Burien appears to show masked federal agents continuing arrests, raising questions about whether the law has any real enforcement. Mary Fan, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.

• Regulating Payment of Participant Data in Clinical Trials
  Apr 01, 2026 | Source: Regulatory Review

  Calandrillo and his coauthors state that a research sponsor, such as a pharmaceutical company, can fund a clinical trial. They explain that, although sponsors do not pay participants for their data, sponsors sometimes pay participants for their involvement in a trial. Such compensation depends on the trial’s time commitment and inconvenience to participants. According to Calandrillo and his coauthors, trial participants are not typically paid substantial sums. A study revealed that participants earn an average of only $4,000 per year.

• Ferguson signs bill that could oust decertified sheriffs — here’s how it works
  Apr 01, 2026 | Source: Seattle Times

  Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill 5974, with the promise from supporters that it would even the playing field between rank-and-file officers and those tasked with leading them. It will take effect April 30, with some parts delayed until 2027. Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.

• With Trump in attendance, Supreme Court justices voice skepticism of his attempt to end birthright citizenship
  Apr 01, 2026 | Source: Spokesman Review

  In an unprecedented scene at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, President Donald Trump sat in the audience while the nine justices considered his administration’s attempt to overturn the constitutional right to citizenship for children born in the United States. Elizabeth Porter, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.

• Looking to limit birthright citizenship, Trump turns to an 1884 Supreme Court ruling against a Native American man
  Mar 29, 2026 | Source: NBC News

  Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law, agreed, saying it was ironic that the government would rely on such a ruling. “It does betray a lack of understanding and awareness or willingness to acknowledge the nuance of Native American law,” he added.

• Is it unusual for WA justices to lack judge experience?
  Mar 27, 2026 | Source: Olympian

  When Gov. Bob Ferguson revealed his picks for the Washington Supreme Court, he lauded the two appointees, Colleen Melody and Theo Angelis, as exceedingly qualified. Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.

• Robert H. Henry and Sterling Knoche: We know it when we don’t see it
  Mar 20, 2026 | Source: Spokesman Review

  Justice Potter Stewart famously observed that although pornography is sometimes difficult to define, “I know it when I see it.” The rule of law can also be abstract, but most Americans know the rule of law when they see it. More precisely, they know it when they don’t see it. And as of late, they have not seen it.

• Opinion: Trump’s threats to judicial independence in United States
  Mar 18, 2026 | Source: Tacoma News Tribune

  "Although the phrase has not been used, the horror many Americans have felt over recent events is the breakdown in our rule of law. Warrantless searches, masked agents, the lack of independent investigations, the denial of court hearings, the defiance of court orders and the entire 'justice' process being carried out summarily on the street," writes Robert Harlan Henry, jurist-in-residence in law at the UW.

• Q&A With Rural Practice Grant Recipients
  Mar 17, 2026 | Source: WA Bar News

  In 2024, the WSBA’s Small Town and Rural (STAR) Council launched a program to provide grants to law students participating in summer internships in rural parts of Washington. J.D. students Tori Ashley and Emmalee Johnson are among the 2025 grant recipients interviewed.

• Opinion: Could Canada provide a lesson in conducting federal elections?
  Mar 16, 2026 | Source: Seattle Times

  President Donald Trump has suggested that the federal government should take over federal elections, especially in Democratic-leaning states. I rarely agree with President Trump, but the basic concept of national control of national elections has merit.

• Exclusive: Man speaks out after corrupt St. Louis cops sent him to prison
  Mar 16, 2026 | Source: St. Louis Public Radio

  “These officers were involved in taking money and drugs,” said Owens, a partner at civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy. “The idea is that if you plant the drugs on the innocent person they won't have anything to say about how or where this stuff came from. If you steal from the drug dealers, they can't complain either, because they're drug dealers. So it is really a breathtaking scheme.”

• Editorial: Dems ignore shaky legality of millionaires tax
  Mar 11, 2026 | Source: Columbian

  "As of early Tuesday, the Legislature appeared poised to pass Senate Bill 6346, which would impose a 9.9 percent tax upon annual household earnings of more than $1 million. Washington is one of nine states that does not have an income tax, although the Legislature did pass a capital gains tax in 2021," writes The Columbian's editorial board. Hugh Spitzer, associate dean emeritus and retired professor in the UW School of Law, is quoted.