By Lisa Mansfield. When I awoke on the morning of June 8, 2020 I never thought that by midday I would be face down on the ground with my colleagues outside of Tacoma’s County City Building (CCB), but that is exactly what happened. I walked with a group of lawyers to participate in a nationwide […] Read more →
By Diane Clarkson. I am a Black prosecutor in Pierce County, Washington. I am the product of a single mom, born in D.C. and raised in a very segregated Birmingham, Alabama after the riots of 1968. I attended Berea College – the only college I could afford to attend, a tuition-free, work/study college. I later […] Read more →
By David C. Smith. So, here we are in the middle of a pandemic. And no matter how many science fiction shows I have watched that discuss the pandemic scenario, not a single one of them talks about the effects of this situation on maybe the most important professions in our society, lawyering. Of course, […] Read more →
By Mary Robnett. The ground has shifted under our feet dramatically – and I don’t mean just since the COVID-19 crisis started. Even in the last two weeks, since I was asked to write about how the pandemic is affecting our office, court operations have changed significantly. To call it unprecedented in my lifetime undersells […] Read more →
By Adam Faber. When Mary Robnett took office as Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney, she brought the historical photos of former prosecuting attorneys out of storage and put them back on the office’s entrance wall. That display sparked an interest in the history of those men, and the helpful staff of the Northwest Room at the […] Read more →
By Sal Mungia. Whenever I hear the phrase “give me _____” (insert the number of your choice in the blank) my blood pressure still notches up a good 20 points with the number of heartbeats doing the same. To those of us growing up at a certain time that phrase was usually associated with having […] Read more →
By Loren A. Cochran, Cole B. Douglas, and Bridget T. Grotz. Foster care often involves caring for children who have suffered child abuse or neglect. For example, a 2009 study reported that in a sample size of 155 girls in foster care up to 81% reported being sexually abused, and of those, 68% reported being […] Read more →
By Diana Kiesel, Commissioner. It is hard to read a newspaper or magazine without an article about the mental health crisis in our county. I’m writing this article during my Civil Commitment rotation at Western State Hospital. Frequently, I see family members appear in court to support loved ones during civil commitment proceedings. The family […] Read more →
By Richard F. DeJean. Over the years and very much of a rarity, almost to say once in a blue moon, I would hear discussions of how a small convent of nuns from France had an influence on the Emancipation Proclamation delivered by President Lincoln. The Congress then passed the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments […] Read more →
By Matthew H. Thomas. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, my colleagues on the editorial board suggested that I write about the federal marital communications privilege. The U.S. Supreme Court has described conversations between a married couple as the “’best solace of human existence.’”[1] The law on privilege has evolved over time. Today, marital conversations […] Read more →
By Lisa Mansfield. When I awoke on the morning of June 8, 2020 I never thought that by midday I would be face down on the ground with my colleagues outside of Tacoma’s County City Building (CCB), but that is exactly what happened. I walked with a group of lawyers to participate in a nationwide […] 
By Diane Clarkson. I am a Black prosecutor in Pierce County, Washington. I am the product of a single mom, born in D.C. and raised in a very segregated Birmingham, Alabama after the riots of 1968. I attended Berea College – the only college I could afford to attend, a tuition-free, work/study college. I later […] 
By David C. Smith. So, here we are in the middle of a pandemic. And no matter how many science fiction shows I have watched that discuss the pandemic scenario, not a single one of them talks about the effects of this situation on maybe the most important professions in our society, lawyering. Of course, […] 
By Mary Robnett. The ground has shifted under our feet dramatically – and I don’t mean just since the COVID-19 crisis started. Even in the last two weeks, since I was asked to write about how the pandemic is affecting our office, court operations have changed significantly. To call it unprecedented in my lifetime undersells […] 
By Adam Faber. When Mary Robnett took office as Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney, she brought the historical photos of former prosecuting attorneys out of storage and put them back on the office’s entrance wall. That display sparked an interest in the history of those men, and the helpful staff of the Northwest Room at the […] 
By Sal Mungia. Whenever I hear the phrase “give me _____” (insert the number of your choice in the blank) my blood pressure still notches up a good 20 points with the number of heartbeats doing the same. To those of us growing up at a certain time that phrase was usually associated with having […] 
By Loren A. Cochran, Cole B. Douglas, and Bridget T. Grotz. Foster care often involves caring for children who have suffered child abuse or neglect. For example, a 2009 study reported that in a sample size of 155 girls in foster care up to 81% reported being sexually abused, and of those, 68% reported being […] 
By Diana Kiesel, Commissioner. It is hard to read a newspaper or magazine without an article about the mental health crisis in our county. I’m writing this article during my Civil Commitment rotation at Western State Hospital. Frequently, I see family members appear in court to support loved ones during civil commitment proceedings. The family […] 
By Richard F. DeJean. Over the years and very much of a rarity, almost to say once in a blue moon, I would hear discussions of how a small convent of nuns from France had an influence on the Emancipation Proclamation delivered by President Lincoln. The Congress then passed the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments […] 
By Matthew H. Thomas. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, my colleagues on the editorial board suggested that I write about the federal marital communications privilege. The U.S. Supreme Court has described conversations between a married couple as the “’best solace of human existence.’”[1] The law on privilege has evolved over time. Today, marital conversations […]