First, some (breaking) good news: On LinkedIn, Professor Robert Chang posted an Order from the Washington Supreme Court, amending our state’s “Style Sheet,” which sets the citation rules for Washington practitioners. Previously, the Style Sheet required parallel reporter citations for every court opinion, including Washington court opinions. In other words, you needed to cite
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Washington Supreme Court on Race and Gender Identity in Jury Selection
By David Ziff
An interesting case today from the Washington Supreme Court. State v. Hogan involves a few different issues related to Washington’s GR 37, which aims to “eliminate the unfair exclusion of potential jurors based on race or ethnicity.” GR 37(a). As the Hogan majority explains:
For many years, it has been clear that federal law…
For Everyone Who Loves CR 60(b) Motions and Counting to Five in Washington: A Note on Luv v. West Coast Servicing
By David Ziff
Okay, that title should scare away most readers.
Back in October 2025 the Washington Supreme Court decided Luv v. West Coast Servicing, 5 Wn.3d 399, 577 P.3d 398 (2025). The issue on appeal was whether the Snohomish County Superior Court should have granted West Coast’s motion to vacate a quiet title judgment under CR…
A (New to Me) Legal Research Program for Washington State Trial Judges
By David Ziff
Recently, I was reading this article in the WSBA Bar News on Washington’s weapons-surrender statute. The article itself is interesting and worth a read. In short, Washington law provides that certain individuals subject to restraining orders are also prohibited from possessing weapons and ordered to surrender their weapons. But this process creates a bit of…
Justice Mungia Addresses Racism Embedded in Federal Indian Law
By David Ziff
Last week, the Washington Supreme Court decided Flying T Ranch v. Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, No. 103430-0 (Oct. 9, 2025). The case involved a property dispute between the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians and the Flying T corporation. The Court held that Flying T’s claims was barred by the federal common law doctrine of tribal…
The Washington Supreme Court Helps Us Count to Five
By David Ziff
First of all: Hi. It’s been a while. I’m trying to get in the habit of posting my random musings here instead of in Bluesky threads. But you can still find me there!
Anyway, an interesting set of opinions from the Washington Supreme Court last week in In re Schoenhals. The substance of…
Another Day, Another Court Gets Angry About Bluebook Errors!
By David Ziff
Yes, I know, I know, I just posted about this yesterday. But there’s another one! This time we’ve got SASC, LLC v. School Supply Connection, Inc. from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The defendant in SASC submitted the following legal argument and citation: “Interpretation of the contract provisions…
When Bluebooking Matters
By David Ziff
For most lawyers, close is good enough for citation rules. As I’ve explained elsewhere, The Bluebook is mostly a guide for law review editors, which means it has way more rules and details than normal lawyers need for a usual court filing.
But that doesn’t mean lawyers can just ignore The Bluebook. Sometimes the…
The City Attorney’s Blanket “Affidavit of Prejudice” Policy Against Judge Vaddadi
By David Ziff
On March 1, the Seattle City Attorney’s Office announced that it would be filing an affidavit of prejudice against Judge Pooja Vaddadi “in all criminal cases going forward.” Under Washington Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, an affidavit of prejudice means that Judge Vaddadi is immediately disqualified from every case in which the…
Who Is Citing Slavery?
By David Ziff
The most-recent version of The Bluebook includes a new rule, Rule 10.7.1(d). Generally, Rule 10.7.1 deals with when and how to cite an opinion’s prior and subsequent history, like if an opinion affirms a previous opinion or is later reversed by a subsequent opinion. Stuff like that.
Rule 10.7.1(d) addresses something different. It provides…