Every day I count myself lucky that I am living in Washington state where there are so many wonderful organizations doing their best to ensure that pro-se litigants have access to resources that help them successfully navigate their cases. Being in King County, I am particularly grateful to Kristina Ralls and the King County Family Law Facilitators program for creating concise and easily accessible form packets for those dealing with family law issues. You can see the breadth of their handiwork at their How-to Resources for Family Law page. In addition to their web presence, the facilitators also run a walk-in Family Law Helpdesk in both the Seattle and Kent courthouses from 9 a.m. to noon every day. At the helpdesk, after a short consultation, patrons are given forms and instructions responsive to their legal issues. As you might guess, the helpdesks are very busy. They lack the capacity to assist people with drafting their forms.

Every day I count myself lucky that I am living in Washington state where there are so many wonderful organizations doing their best to ensure that pro-se litigants have access to resources that help them successfully navigate their cases. Being in King County, I am particularly grateful to Kristina Ralls and the King County Family Law Facilitators program for creating concise and easily accessible form packets for those dealing with family law issues. You can see the breadth of their handiwork at their How-to Resources for Family Law page. In addition to their web presence, the facilitators also run a walk-in Family Law Helpdesk in both the Seattle and Kent courthouses from 9 a.m. to noon every day. At the helpdesk, after a short consultation, patrons are given forms and instructions responsive to their legal issues. As you might guess, the helpdesks are very busy. They lack the capacity to assist people with drafting their forms.

Barbara Engstrom rounds up King County Law Library staff reading recommendations, encompassing fiction, science fiction, history, and local nonfiction. These picks offer something for everyone — even the hard-to-shop-for — and invite readers to settle in for the dark season.

Barbara Engstrom rounds up King County Law Library staff reading recommendations, encompassing fiction, science fiction, history, and local nonfiction. These picks offer something for everyone — even the hard-to-shop-for — and invite readers to settle in for the dark season.

As with so many other facets of our government that we’ve only recently internalized are grounded in norms, traditions, or political will (I’m looking at you, enforcement of the Hatch Act) rather than hard and fast law, the current Supreme Court’s increased employment of the shadow docket has taken many by surprise. When most of us think of a case coming before the Supreme Court, we imagine the long, slow, deliberative journey through the trial and appellate courts and, if the case is granted cert, the briefing, oral argument, and considered reasoning of the final opinion. With the shadow docket, once the case hits the Supreme Court — cue the record-scratch sound — we get the black hole of an unsigned order with no explanation of the reasoning behind it, and just to add further mystery, sometimes released in the middle of the night.

Barbara Engstrom highlights tools for tracking the rapid pace of federal regulatory change in Drinking From a Firehose. She points to resources monitoring climate, health care, and immigration shifts, as well as dwindling government data. Librarians, researchers and "regular Joes" are working to preserve public information and help us stay informed.

Barbara Engstrom highlights tools for tracking the rapid pace of federal regulatory change in Drinking From a Firehose. She points to resources monitoring climate, health care, and immigration shifts, as well as dwindling government data. Librarians, researchers and "regular Joes" are working to preserve public information and help us stay informed.

Barbara Engstrom shares the King County Law Library staff’s summer reading recommendations — ranging from dystopian fiction to philosophical meditations and include an acclaimed novel set in Seattle. There's Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping, a humorous sleuth novel; A Flicker in the Dark, a twisty psychological thriller; Blackout and All Clear, historical sci-fi during the London Blitz; The Every, a satirical take on big tech’s overreach; and Flights, a nonlinear novel exploring transience and identity. Then there's the close-to-home, post-apocalyptic Hollow Kingdom. These eclectic, and electric, suggestions offer inspiration to bookworm yourself into a hammock. 

While foot traffic has picked up in the courthouse, we know many of you are just not coming downtown like you used to. With that in mind, the law library has made a concerted effort to expand remote access to our collection materials whenever possible.

While foot traffic has picked up in the courthouse, we know many of you are just not coming downtown like you used to. With that in mind, the law library has made a concerted effort to expand remote access to our collection materials whenever possible.