Annual Ethics and Tech conference will bring together industry and thought leaders around local and global implications of artificial intelligence. June 18, 2025 at Seattle University. Professor Dongsheng Zang is among the speakers.
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank’s desire to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, despite Pierce County officials saying he can’t under Washington law, has resulted in pending legal action after Swank used an outside attorney to serve three officials with a demand for mediation last week. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ professor Hugh Spitzer, is quoted.
“If you think about the purpose of the First Amendment, we robustly protect freedom of speech precisely because even the threat of a government activity that will curtail or restrict speech casts a chill on freedom of expression,” Porter said.
“I think the Trump administration has had quite a bit of success by making very outrageous demands and then getting people to negotiate with it in ways that ultimately result in significant victories for the administration,” UW professor of law Elizabeth Porter said.
"The educational components of the program were developed by the National Judicial College (NJC) in consultation with tribal representatives, state government officials, judicial branch leaders and attorneys specializing in water law. Overseeing the educational program have been NJC Associate Director Alf W. Brandt and University of Washington Professor of Law Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center."
UW School of Law and its Big Ten academic partners hosted a panel of legal scholars May 28 to examine how courts have responded to — and, in many cases, enabled — presidential overreach during the Trump administration.
Jeff Feldman, a professor at the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, wrote via email: "That language, on its face, would not eliminate the court's ability to enforce contempt charges against the government. It would make it much more difficult, though." He also noted that he had not reviewed the entirety of the legislation (which is more than 1,000 pages long), and there could be language or other provisions within the bill that impact the meaning or provide context for the language of the provision in question.
University of Washington law professor Robert Gomulkiewicz said the First Amendment is strongest in public places and the ability of governments like Seattle to regulate speech in parks is highly restricted. “Parks and sidewalks are the quintessential public forum where people have been expressing ideas and protesting since the founding of the country,” he said.
As the document that formed the U.S. government, defined its parts and set down the rights of its people, the Constitution does many things. Professor Spitzer is quoted.
"In this episode, Dr. Geoff Baird and I interview Elizabeth Pendo, the Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Kellye Y. Testy Professor of Law at the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ. Our topic is medical legal collaboration to improve laboratory stewardship."
Tamara Lawson, dean of ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, said interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to train the next generation of leaders to solve some of the most complex societal problems. “Innovation requires building consequential connections that span disciplines,” Lawson said. Elizabeth Pendo, senior associate dean for academic affairs and director of the program, said putting the power of the law into action to solve problems will provide policy solutions to support health science and population health ecosystems.
"Jake Whittenberg delves into the impact of President Trump's first 100 days in office from immigration to the economy to constitutional law." Professor Spitzer is interviewed beginning at 38:29.
"A Trump third term would look unlike any version of the United States under the Constitution as we know it," professor Chin told Newsweek.
Google and the DOJ have returned to court to argue for what they believe the remedy should be for these monopolistic practices. Depending on what’s decided in a D.C. courthouse, there could be big changes in store for one of tech’s biggest juggernauts. Douglas Ross, professor from practice of law at the UW, is interviewed.
A federal judge reprimanded the Trump Administration over its failure to comply with a court order to facilitate the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. But so far, the Trump administration is not making moves to get him back. So, is the Administration ignoring a ruling from the highest court in the land? And where does that leave our constitutional democracy? Eric Schapper, professor of law at the UW, is interviewed.
"Is the Administration ignoring a ruling from the highest court in the land? And where does that leave our constitutional democracy?" ºìÌÒÊÓƵ professor Eric Schnapper is interviewed.
In Trump's first administration, a major tax overhaul ended up victimizing scam victims twice: Once by criminals, then again by the U.S. government. Ramón Ortiz-Vélez, associate teaching professor of law and managing director of the Federal Tax Clinic at the UW, is quoted.
The previously undebatable topic on whether President Donald Trump can seek a third term in office is gaining increasing prevalence, mainly due to the Republican himself. Jeremiah Chin, assistant professor of law at the UW, is interviewed.
University of Washington’s Eric Schnapper examines the divide growing between Big Law firms that choose to work with President Donald Trump versus resisting the EOs targeting lawyers—and what it means for the profession’s future.
There is debate about whether a federal judge in Alaska had authority to cancel seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled last week that the Biden administration was wrong to cancel oil and gas leases in the Arctic national Wildlife Refuge. Jeff Feldman, professor of law at the UW, is quoted.
President Donald Trump’s expressed plans to close the Department of Education could be constitutional if he goes to Congress and gets the authority to do that, Spitzer said. Congress created the department and provides its funding. It could vote to revoke the former and cancel the latter.
Feldman, now a law professor at the University of Washington, said 81% of Gleason’s decisions are upheld on appeal, a slightly higher rate than other federal judges who have served in Alaska. Feldman considers Sullivan a friend. He said that while it’s fair to criticize specific judicial decisions, it’s inappropriate to “throw rocks at a judge” by alleging a bias that doesn’t exist. “When a leader makes that kind of allegation, that suggests that a judge's rulings are both wrong and politically motivated, that undermines faith and confidence in the judiciary,” Feldman said.
“One of the reasons we’re seeing so many lawsuits in Seattle is the sense that the judges here are likely to be more receptive to these sorts of claims,” said University of Washington law professor Lisa Manheim. “We saw the same thing when President Biden was in office — the state of Texas filed dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration, all in the same district in Texas, where they felt the judge would be more receptive to those sorts of challenges,” she added.
Sen. Dan Sullivan's criticism of a federal judge shines a spotlight on the judicial selection process. Professor Feldman is quoted.
UW School of Law’s Eric Schnapper says Paul Weiss’ early-career lawyers must decide whether the firm’s deal with the Trump administration is compatible with their reasons for entering the profession.
