Occasionally we get asked the question, “Can the federal government force a state government to enforce state laws?” It’s an interesting question, so we thought it would make a good blog post. In general, the state governments and the federal government each have the constitutional authority to write and enforce their own criminal laws. This is part of America’s federalist system where the drafters of the Constitution gave the federal government specific enumerated powers but made federal law supreme over state law (often referred to as the Supremacy Clause) when the federal law is in co ..read more

Each year on May 1st the legal community gathers together to celebrate “the rule of law and cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal system.” Established in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Law Day is intended for understanding how and why the legal system and the law itself are vital to liberty, justice, and freedom for all. Past Law Day themes have included the Magna Carta, Separation of Powers, the 14th and 19th Amendments, and the role that the courts play in ensuring access to justice. This year’s theme is Voices of Democracy. According to the American Bar Association (A ..read more

Probate in Washington — Online and Library Resources Losing a loved one is never easy. Along with the grief of saying goodbye, making funeral arrangements, and other important decisions, losing a loved one means managing the real and personal property that they leave behind. In the legal world, this is known as settling an estate and the process of doing that is called probate. Probate is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th ed. as “[t]he judicial procedure by which a testamentary document is established to be a valid will; the proving of a will to the satisfaction of the court.” In l ..read more

Legal research can be a real slog. But have you ever noticed that titles to law review articles are oftentimes actually entertaining or even really funny? Here at the library we run into these little gems all the time. We thought we would share with you some of these punny ones we’ve collected: ∙ Drew A. Driesen, Vanity Lawfare: Vanity License Plates and the First Amendment, 106 Iowa L. Rev. 363 (2020) ∙ Shivani Patel, The IP of IPAs: A Look into Trademark Infringement in the Craft Beer Industry, 26 J. Intell. Prop. L. 249 (2019) ∙ Terence J. Lau & William A. Wines, Take Two Tab ..read more

Man of Treacherous Charm: Territorial Justice Edmund C. Fitzhugh — A Book Review With Historical Perspective from Lawrence M. Friedman’s “A History of American Law” Sometimes we find a book in our library’s collection that provides perspective on a subject covered in another title. When we received our new book by Washington author Candace Wellman, Man of Treacherous Charm: Territorial Justice Edmund C. Fitzhugh (WSU Press, 2023), it cried out to be reviewed in light of Lawrence M. Friedman’s A History of American Law, Fourth Edition (Oxford University Press, 2019). Friedman, whose s ..read more

Image designed by Wannapik A library staff member was recently summoned for jury duty. So we thought we would turn it over to her to blog on her experience and some of the issues surrounding jury duty in Washington. Following is her reporting. The postcard arrived in my mailbox last month: “You’ve been summoned.” It was the first time in almost ten years of living here in Washington that I had been given the call to appear at my county courthouse for jury duty. I had to visit the jury service website, check to make sure my contact information was up to date, and print out my jury service ..read more

Landmark Treaty Rights Case Turns 50 The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing, together with the privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands. Provided, however, that they shall not take shell-fish from any beds staked or cultivated by citizens. — Treaty of Point Elliott (1855), Article 5 This is our country. It isn’t nobody else’s, it’s ours. . . . We take the respon ..read more

Grab Your Devices — We’ve Got New eBooks! It’s always an exciting time when we get new books here in the law library. It’s especially exciting when we can offer those titles as part of our LexisNexis Digital Library eBook Collection. This post will introduce you to the latest books we’ve added to our electronic library. But first…what do we mean by eBooks? eBooks are electronic versions of library books, which you can check out through our library catalog and read on your computer, phone, or tablet — all from the comfort of your home or office. The key here is that like print books ..read more

This is our fourth blog installment highlighting recent additions to our collection. Here we focus on books covering a variety of interesting topics. We are excited to bring you this and three additional posts about new materials in the library. In case you missed it, we recently highlighted new books for legal professionals, books about criminal justice reform, and books focusing on social justice topics. Books mentioned in this post are available to check out at our temporary location in Tumwater. You can also request them through interlibrary loan at your home library. Contact the ref ..read more

The Washington State Legislature’s 2024 session began on Monday, January 8, 2024. The 60-day session is expected to adjourn on Thursday, March 7, 2024. On opening day the House passed three bills related to housing and lot-splitting, eliminating marriage for those under 18, and providing assistance to communities hit by weather related disasters. Photo by JamesInOregon / CC BY 2.0 DEED To get a sneak peek into this year’s session, a Washington State Association of Broadcasters and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington session preview can be accessed on TVW. Recordings of the opening cerem ..read more