Aloha from King County Superior Court. On August 14, King County Superior Court officially welcomed our two newest judges when Judge William Dixon and Judge E. Rania Rampersad were officially sworn in.

In Oltman v. Alaska, Division I affirmed Washington’s long-arm statute allows for minimum contacts through the acts of an agent.  This article explores the factual and legal analyses underpinning this compelling personal jurisdiction decision.  

Judge Lum invites you to tour the Court’s newest installation, the brainchild of Hon. Jeffrey Ramsdell that recognizes each and every judge who sat on the King County Superior Court bench.

September ushers in Fall, the beginning of school for many, and the start of farewell to the warm days of our Northwest summer. Fall is the tipping point between a time of ripening, harvest, and abundance, and the time to begin preparing for the slower and colder hibernating months ahead. It is an opportune time to reflect on KCBA’s accomplishments while also setting our sights on our future goals.

Many an article has been written about the power of travel to be a life-changing journey. I recently read a piece in the Guardian from 2005 where Nigel Tisdall shares myriad trips which can create memories that live with you forever. He suggests spending six months traversing Asia, talking to the animals in the Kalahari Desert or swapping your house for a luxurious villa. While all the ideas sparked my keen interest, the likelihood of my participation in an intensive workout on a Kenyan beach with Wild Fitness is not likely an adventure I will undertake in the near future. Instead, I am looking forward to the adventure and personal growth ahead for me as I step into my role as the Executive Director of the King County Bar Association. Being selected to steward KCBA is an exceptional opportunity, and I am enthusiastic about the possibilities.

Since the Carter administration, the U.S. government has seen the control of Afghanistan as central to its global power objectives. Through both clandestine and overt operations, the U.S. armed the Mujahadeen and fighters like Osama bin Laden to battle both Afghan communists and the U.S.S.R.; then, once the U.S.S.R. pulled out of Afghanistan in defeat, supported Afghan forces who had fought against some of the same religious powers the U.S. had previously supported; then invaded the country after 9/11 and drove the Taliban from power, remained in the country for 20 years in support of those powers and in support of the Afghan military; and finally, in August of 2021, hastily withdrew all troops and personnel as the Taliban again took political and military control of the country.

Most personal injury mediations are not complicated by a defendant’s inability to pay what a plaintiff demands. Over the past two months, I have covered the basics for handling your first personal injury mediation when the availability of settlement funds was not a complicating issue. This month we address that complication.

Much has been written over the last few years about the rise of “nuclear verdicts.” Reasons range from the rise of the millennial majority in jury boxes to inflation and distrust in society’s institutions. There are many explanations, all of which have contributed to the inflationary trend in noneconomic awards, but one simple explanation is anchoring. Anchoring is a strategy typically deployed by plaintiffs’ attorneys where they ask for numbers well beyond what they believe the jury will award with the expectation that the net effect will be an amount larger than what the jury would have otherwise awarded absent the anchor. For example, if attorneys know the jurors are most likely to “split the baby,” a $30 million damages request will produce a larger award than a $20 million request.

Hi there, Upper East Siders, did you miss me?  Don’t look now but the Supreme Court’s notorious party justice is back in town.  Keeping track of shifting precedent and lavish gifts isn’t easy, but it’s what Gossip Clerk does best!  Get ready to clutch your pearls, this season promises to be the best yet.

Regarding the personal restraint of Ansell, Washington’s Supremes tackled the ambiguities of former RCW 9.94A.713(5) and the innuendoes of the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board’s community custody conditions.