Robert Stephen Lasnik (born 1951) is an American attorney and jurist, who serves as a senior

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Education and career

Born in Staten Island, New York, Lasnik received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

in 1972 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

in journalism from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1973, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in counseling also from

in 1974, and a Juris Doctor from the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Wash ...

in 1978. From 1978 to 1990, Lasnik worked in the office of the

King County Prosecuting Attorney The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as all misdemeanors in unincorp ...

, including five years as a deputy prosecutor (from 1978 to 1981), two years as a senior deputy prosecutor (from 1981 to 1983), and seven years as chief of staff to longtime King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng (from 1983 to 1990). In his time with the

's office, Lasnik prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, many with future King County Superior Court Judge

William L. Downing William Lansing Downing (born August 1, 1949) is a former judge of the Superior Court of Washington for King County ( Seattle) and a former deputy prosecutor. He is notable for his ruling that same-sex marriages are legal in Washington, as well ...

. The pair prosecuted three cases stemming from the

Wah Mee Massacre The Wah Mee massacre () was a mass shooting that occurred during the night of February 18–19, 1983, in which Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak, Wai Chiu "Tony" Ng, and Keung Kin "Benjamin" Ng (no relation) bound, robbed, and shot fourteen people in the Wa ...

, the infamous 1983 robbery-homicide that ended in the murder of thirteen employees and patrons of the Wah Mee Club in Seattle's International District. Lasnik and Downing also successfully prosecuted David Lewis Rice, who on Christmas Eve in 1986 murdered all four members of a prominent Seattle family based on the mistaken belief they were part of a Jewish-communist conspiracy. Lasnik served as a superior court judge on the King County Superior Court from 1990 to 1998. While on the Superior Court bench, Lasnik made important rulings involving the Seattle Mariners' stadium and in 1995 ruled that the University of Washington regents violated the Open Meetings Act in their search for a new president.

Federal judicial service

Lasnik was nominated to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

on May 11, 1998, to a seat vacated by Carolyn R. Dimmick. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 21, 1998, and received his commission on October 22, 1998. He served as chief judge from 2004 to 2011. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 27, 2016.

Notable cases

Lasnik temporarily blocked Seattle's first-in-the-nation law allowing drivers for a

ridesharing company A ridesharing company (also known as a transportation network company, ride-hailing service; the vehicles are called app-taxis or e-taxis) is a company that, via websites and mobile apps, matches passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire tha ...

, such as Uber and Lyft, to unionize over pay and working conditions. In August 2017, Lasnik then determined that the city had state action immunity for the alleged violations of the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. ...

. That judgment was partially reversed by a unanimous panel of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

in May 2018. On August 27, 2018, Judge Lasnik blocked the

Defense Distributed Defense Distributed is an online open-source hardware organization that develops digital schematics of firearms in CAD files, or "wiki weapons", that may be downloaded from the Internet and used in 3D printing or CNC milling applications. Among ...

and its founder,

Cody Wilson Cody Rutledge Wilson (born January 31, 1988) is an American gun rights activist and crypto-anarchist. He is a founder and director of Defense Distributed, a non-profit organization that develops and publishes open source gun designs, so-calle ...

, from posting 3D-printed gun blueprints online. Judge Lasnik first imposed a temporary restraining order on Wilson, but that was due to expire, so he mandated a preliminary injunction that blocks online distribution in the United States while the legal proceedings are ongoing.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasnik, Robert S. 1951 births Living people Brandeis University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Medill School of Journalism alumni Northwestern University alumni People from Staten Island Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of Washington School of Law alumni Lawyers from Seattle 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Notable cases

See also

References

Sources