John Strait

John Strait

Professor Emeritus

 Sullivan Hall 438

 206-398-4027

Email John

Areas of Expertise, Education, Affiliations, Courses

Areas of Expertise

  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Professional Responsibility
  • Professional Responsibility Clinic Trial Advocacy
  • Forensics
  • White-Collar and Federal Crimes

Education

  • B.A., University of California/Davis, 1966
  • J.D., Yale Law School, 1969

Biography

John A. Strait, Emeritus Professor of Law, is a graduate of Yale Law School. Professor Strait has served on the Washington Supreme Court's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, the King County Bar Association Campaign Ethics Committee, the WSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee, and the board of the Washington Chapter of the American Judicature Society. He serves on the board of the WSBA Criminal Law Section, and has served as a governor's appointee to the Statute Law Commission. He serves as Adjunct Investigative Counsel to the Washington State Bar Association Office of Legal Discipline. The clinical component of his course in professional responsibility investigated complaints against lawyers for probable cause for the Washington State Bar Association from 1991-2005. The law school received the E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award from the American Bar Association for the clinical component. Professor Strait served as a member and Chair of the Seattle Port Authority Ethics Advisory Commission from its inception until 2009. Professor Strait joined the faculty in 1974. He is the 2017 WACDL William O. Douglas Award recipient for Extraordinary Courage and Dedication to the Practice of Criminal Law. He is a frequent CLE presenter on legal ethics.

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Some Selected Constitutional Problems for the New Criminal Code for Washington, in Criminal Law and Practice (CLE). (University of Washington 1983). (with George R. Nock).
  • WSBA CLE, Washington Legal Ethics Deskbook, 2003 (co-author).

Articles

  • So Your Client Wants to Lie, Washington State Bar News, Apr. 1987, at 15.
  • Equitable Conversion in Washington: The Doctrine That Dares Not Speak Its Name, 1 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 121 (1977) (with George R. Nock & John W. Weaver).

Activity

In the News

  • Judges' trips to Costa Rica have the 'potential to be very serious,' ethics expert says
    March 08, 2019 | Nashville Tennessean
    Ethics expert Professor John Strait says there's a high burden of proof in ethics investigations.
  • Meet Lincoln Beauregard, the lawyer who gets 'right up' in Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's face
    May 04, 2017
    This piece quotes Professor John Strait's court filing in support of sanctions for an aggressive lawyer.
  • Deschutes County gag orders trouble legal experts
    April 30, 2017
    Professor John Strait explains when an attorney's public comments violate state bar guidelines.
  • Ethics expert Professor John Strait retires
    April 03, 2017
    As Professor Strait prepares to retire at the end of this academic year, he reflected on his long career of working to build a bridge between academia and the practicing bar and bench, and remembered with pride the thousands of students he taught who went on to become talented, hard-working lawyers.
  • Ethical Questions Surround Ammon Bundy's Legal Team, Strategy
    February 05, 2016
    Ethics expert Professor John Strait addresses the professional responsibilities of lawyers offering services to militia in the Oregon standoff.
  • The Uber of pot: City wonders, is marijuana-delivery app legal?
    January 09, 2015
    Professor John Strait offers thoughts on the legality of an app for medical marijuana delivery.