KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

The library’s newest podcast has been released!  Join us for our third installment of “Supreme Court Classics”, where we learn about the career of Thurgood Marshall.

Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American Justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court. As a Constitutional Lawyer, Marshall is in class of his own. As chief counsel for the NAACP, Marshall successfully argued his case in Brown v. Board of Education, which changed not only American Jurisprudence forever, but also changed American Culture and Society forever. Without Marshall’s extraordinary advocacy in Brown, such legislation as the Civil Rights of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, may not have been possible. Appointed to the High Court in 1967, Marshall retired in 1991 at the age of 83. This capped a legal career that probably will never be matched in American History.

Check out the second installment in our ongoing series called Supreme Court Classics.  This episode features John Marshall, who was appointed Chief Justice by President John Adams in 1801 and served until his death in 1835.

 While most know him as the 27th President of the United States, William Howard Taft spent four uncomfortable years in the White House. What held Taft’s true interest was the court and the law, and once he was freed from the responsibilities of the White House, Taft would go on to serve as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, a position he enjoyed so much that he wrote “I don’t remember that I ever was President.”

 This podcast is the first in a series titled Supreme Court Classics. This series will take a look at just a few of the notable justices who served on the High Court and how their influence is still felt today.

Joseph Chester Self was the 73rd person to be executed in Washington and the last person to be executed in the state until Westley Allan Dodd’s execution on January 5, 1993. During the 30 year hiatus, Washington’s capital punishment statute was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972.

In Part Two of this episode of KCLL’s Sidebar, we talk to Jim Burns, who was among two men to prosecute Mr. Self.  For additional information about the case, you can go to the History Link website which we have linked to here.

Mike Flynn, long-time editor of the Puget Sound Business Journal, was one of 35 people who witnessed the hanging of convicted murderer Joseph Self in June of 1963.  Mr. Flynn has posted a thoughtful reflection about the execution and capital punishment in Washington State at  Flynn’s Harp  (Note: as of 9/9/2010, the link to Mike Flynn’s blog was not working properly).  For more information about the Self case, see our recent podcast, wherein local attorney George Sjursen interviews one of Self’s defense attorneys, Dan Riviera.

Joseph Chester Self was the 73rd person to be executed in Washington and the last person to be executed in the state until Westley Allan Dodd’s execution on January 5, 1993. During the 30 year hiatus, Washington’s capital punishment statute was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972.

In Part One of this episode of KCLL’s Sidebar, we talk to Dan Riviera, who was among two men to defend Mr. Self.

Listen to Episode 36, Part 1
Links for Episode 36, Part 1

In this episode of KCLL’s Sidebar, Rick talks about the process of e-filing in King County Superior Court and the most frequent questions the library receives regarding this new system.  Craig, in his “Reel Verdict” segment, reviews a documentary he recently watched called “The Trials of Law School”.  This movie follows the lives of law students as they negotiate the theories and practice of law in a school setting.

In this episode of KCLL’s SideBar Rita K. talks about some of her favorite podcast episodes and says good-bye as she passes KCLL’s SideBar on to its new producers. Craig, in his “Reel Verdict” segment, reviews a documentary he watched recently called “A Lawyer Walks into a Bar.” The movie is about law students trying to pass California’s bar exam.

Listen to Episode 34
Links for Episode 34

In this episode of KCLL’s SideBar Rita K. talks about a common question the Library is getting in these harsh economic times. How can you help yourself if you are sued to collect on an outstanding debt? Then listen in as Craig, in his “Reel Verdict” segment, talks about the movie “Repo Man.”

Listen to Episode 33
Links for Episode 33

In this episode of KCLL’s SideBar we present Part 2 of Seattle attorney George Sjursen’s interview of President Richard Nixon’s youngest brother, Edward Nixon, who has written a book titled, The Nixons: A Family Portrait. Also, our resident movie critic, Craig Burgess, returns with his Reel Verdict review of Robert Greenwald’s biography of Abbie Hoffman, Steal This Movie.

Listen to Episode 32
Links for Episode 32