The conundrum of primaries

Jobs, Journalism, Justice

Jill Mullins is an intersectional feminist, attorney, activist and much more. She has written for NW Lawyer, King County Bar News and LGBTQ+ outlets.

The U.S. Supreme Court is riddled with ethics issues. Several involve Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia Thomas, that raise significant concerns about his impartiality, because someone connected to several cases has given him $500,000 vacations and is paying for a very expensive education for a family member. Justice Neil Gorsuch has a property scandal linked to a suspicious purchase around the time of his confirmation. Chief Justice Roberts’ wife has been making millions of dollars recruiting attorneys for firms who argue cases before the Supreme Court. ...

Fighting the right’s backlash to rights

By Jill Mullins | April 19, 2023

Is the utopia of the radical right a world where women, doctors and anyone who does not conform to patriarchal norms are criminalized or killed? Does anyone really believe it is better to have children in the foster care system than with a parent who respects their gender identity and exploration? Do people really want to live in a world where everyone has a gun and where road rage can result in murder, as happened so recently to Elijah Lewis, a Seattleite who advocated against gun violence only to lose his life in the same way? ...

A lesson from history: Paternalism never protects women

By Jill Mullins | March 15, 2023

Iranians, led by women, are in their sixth month of protests in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini and in their effort to regain freedom for women. In Iran, prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women had freedoms and the right to vote. They could participate in the public life as artists, politicians and everything in between and beyond. ...

The end of policing for a better future

By Jill Mullins | February 15, 2023

Law enforcement is a dying institution. Policing has lost public trust, from the brutality of the police in images from Rodney King to Tyre Nichols to the fact that they seem incapable of preventing things like the thefts of catalytic converters. Most of the time what would be far more helpful to the average person is helping them with the impact of a crime — repairing something broken or replacing something stolen — much more than catching whoever committed the crime. ...

Woman. Life. Freedom.

By Jill Mullins | January 24, 2023

On Sept. 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died under suspicious circumstances in Iran. She had been picked up by “morality police” for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. She later died, and her body showed signs of brutality, according to various news outlets. Her death sparked protests and emboldened a movement. ...

Empowering anti-violence

By Jill Mullins | December 21, 2022

Over the summer, Washington updated its Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) statute to include coercive control. “Coercive control” means a pattern of behavior that is used to cause another to suffer physical, emotional or psychological harm and — in purpose or effect — unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty. Coercive control is essentially a form of emotional or psychological abuse that domestic violence advocates have long included in their definition of domestic violence. ...

A dangerous case

By Jill Mullins | November 16, 2022

On Nov. 9, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that may have disastrous impacts on Native American children, families and tribes. The case — Haaland v. Brackeen — threatens to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). While this case is about ICWA, it is actually a smokescreen for the overall destruction of tribal sovereignty. ...

An escalator, not a plateau

By Jill Mullins | October 19, 2022

I was listening to a news story about one of the most recent devastating climate catastrophes, and the person being interviewed made a comment about being so confused that people talk about smoke, heat waves, hurricanes, devastating fires and more as if it’s the new normal. They’re treating things like a plateau, when we are really on an escalator of increasing devastation. ...

The making and retiring of legends

By Jill Mullins | September 21, 2022

Walking to the arena to watch one of the last WNBA games that Sue Bird would play, I found myself next to a woman wearing a Storm shirt decorated with the language of Title IX, the law banning sex discrimination in schools. We talked for a moment while she pondered what her life would have been like had she grown up with Title IX; it only passed in 1972. She said the only sport girls in her school had access to was archery. ...