The King County Family Law Information Center (FLIC) provides assistance with a variety of family law-related processes including divorce, child support, parenting plans and parenting plan modifications. FLIC is introducing a new service system affecting both the Seattle and Kent courthouses. It will launch in January 2023. In preparation for that launch, FLIC will have reduced hours in December 2022.
The King County Department of Judicial Administration, also known as the Superior Court Clerk’s Office, is proud to announce the completion of the first phase of its new Website Translation Project. The project’s goal is to translate key content of the Clerk’s Office website into the top 7 languages spoken by King County users. In Phase 1, they have translated information regarding basic Clerk’s Office operations, court calendars, fees & waivers, assistance requesting court records, legal financial obligations, State v. Blake refunds, accommodations, and public disclosure requests.
From the Clerk’s Office homepage, users can click on their preferred language to access a Landing Page written entirely in and containing all translated content in that language. Links to translated content are also included on the English-language web pages for ease of access.
This is only the beginning! As the project moves forward into Phase 2, the Clerk’s Office is looking forward to providing users with additional translated content.
The Clerk’s Office welcomes feedback about this project. Please send your comments and questions to DJATranslations@kingcounty.gov. For assistance with any Clerk’s Office services, please call 206-296-9300.
Click here to view this announcement translated into the top 7 languages spoken by King County users: Amharic, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
The public can access files and documents for cases filed with the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Courts of Appeal after January 1, 2020 through the Court’s new Appellate Court Public Document Portal. You will need to know the case number you want to research. This system does not provide access to trial court documents, so you will need to contact the specific trial court for those materials. Search for Supreme Court case information here. Search for Appellate Court information here. Learn more about the new portal by reviewing the FAQs here.
The National Consumer Law Center has published a very useful article describing the twelve most significant changes to the laws and rules governing repaying or canceling student loan debt. You can also access additional digital content from NCLC, including their publication titled Student Loan Law, directly from King County Law Library’s website here
Washington State’s Health Care Authority administers an FCC program called the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP is designed to make it cheaper for some Washington households to get high-speed Internet access. If your household qualifies, you can get up to $30/month off of Internet connectivity charges and a one-time $100 discount off the purchase price of a laptop, tablet or desktop computer. Only one monthly service discount and one device discount is allowed per qualifying household. The Biden Administration has also secured commitments from some Internet service providers to offer high-speed plans covered completely by funding from the ACP. To learn if you qualify, simply visit the Affordable Connectivity Program’s site here or go to GetInternet.gov and complete the online application.
In May 2022, ACLU of Washington sponsored a pre-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization discussion about abortion and reproductive rights. The speakers included Dr. Erin Berry, Washington State Medical Director, Kia Guarino, Executive Director of Pro-Choice Washington, Miranda Varags, board member of Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and Leah Rutman, Health Care and Liberty Counsel, ACLU-WA. The program was moderated by ACLU-WA Executive Director, Michele Storms. ACLU-WA has made a recording of this discussion available again and encourages you to watch again or attend for the time.
WashingtonLawHelp.org has a new guide that helps explain the numerous changes made to Washington State’s protection order forms and process in June 2022. For example, you can now use a single petition to file for a protection order if you have encountered domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking. Some types of protection orders, such as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, still require a separate petition. Read the new WaLawHelp protection order guide here. Current forms for all protection order types can be found beneath the Protection Orders drop-down here.
Times change. And so do sensibilities and values. So not all legal decisions age as well as one might have expected. Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez has created a list of some decisions that should be (or already have been) changed.
You can see the entire list and read the explanations in the Seattle Times article found HERE.
One of the ways that the King County Bar Association is working to improve the quality of legal representation in the area is by helping deserving legal students with the cost of licensure. In addition to a limited number of application grants, KCBA is partnering with no less that four commercial vendors to provide some applicants with tuition grants for test-prep courses.
More information and application forms can be found HERE.
The spread of technology into so many areas of our lives has opened up new avenues for harassing behavior. From “cyber-stalking” to “revenge porn,” there are a number of things that we can do to fight back – but where to start? Here are a few very helpful resources:
CYBER CIVIL RIGHTS LEGAL PROJECT – connects victims of nonconsensual pornography with legal assistance – locally, nationally and even outside of the United States.
CLINIC TO END TECH ABUSE (CETA) – helps abuse survivors understand how technology can be manipulated to harm them and what steps they can take to prevent it.
NATIONAL NETWORK TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (NNEDV) – provides an online toolkit to help domestic violence survivors navigate the technological dimension of abuse.
NEW BEGINNINGS – offers a wide variety of resources to help those who have faced domestic abuse.