Law Department Annual Reports 1894-1991

Washington (State). Municipal Court (Seattle)

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Seattle's Police Court was the forerunner to the current Municipal Court. The first judicial officer for Seattle was appointed by the City Council in 1875 from among the King County Justices of the Peace serving the Seattle Precinct. In 1886, a charter amendment made each Seattle Precinct Justice a Police Justice with jurisdiction over ordinance violations. The 1890 Freeholders Charter officially established a Police Court in the city. This provision was repealed in 1892, after an 1891 state law...

Seattle (Wash.). Corporation Counsel

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Seattle (Wash.). City Attorney

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Mark Sidran became Seattle's City Attorney in 1990, holding the office until 2001. During Sidran's tenure, one of his signature issues was the impoundment of cars of people caught driving with suspended licenses. He endorsed the law as promoting responsibility and increasing public safety, while his critics claimed the practice disproportionately affected the poor. Sidran's advocacy of "civility laws"--ordinances outlawing aggressive panhandling and sitting on sidewalks--caused a great deal of c...

Seattle (Wash.). Law Dept.

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The Law Department represents the City in all legal matters and litigation, provides legal advice and opinions to City departments and agencies, and is responsible for prosecuting violations of City ordinances in Municipal Court. The position of City Attorney was established in 1875. The 1890 City Charter created the Law Department headed by the Corporation Counsel. The title was changed to City Attorney in 1977. From the guide to the Seattle Law Department Condemnation Files, 1897-1...

Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk

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The position of City Treasurer was created in Seattle's first City Charter in 1869. The Treasurer administered the collection, management, and disbursement of all City monies, invested temporary surplus cash, and administered Local Improvement District assessments. The Treasurer, like the Comptroller, was an elected official until 1992, when a City Charter amendment abolished the two positions and consolidated the two departments into an executive agency, the Department of Finance. F...