Ryan’s practice focuses defending individuals’ constitutional rights and bringing police misconduct and wrongful death cases on local and national levels.
A former U.S. District Court law clerk, Ryan has an eye towards the inner-workings of the federal courts, complex litigation, and trial practice. He writes prolifically about matters critical to civil rights, and has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and law reviews. He has tried numerous cases to verdict and is responsible for obtaining the largest jury verdict in the Western District of Washington.
On December 14, 2021, Governor Inslee appointed Ryan to serve a six-year term as a Board Member on the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. Ryan is also Chair of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington’s Legal Committee, which serves as legal counsel to ACLU-WA and provides advice to the staff in the strategic development and execution of litigation to advance the ACLU’s civil liberties and civil rights agenda. In addition, Ryan is a member of the Task Force on Race and Washington’s Criminal Justice System, which provides research and analysis to the Washington State Supreme Court regarding disproportionalities in the criminal justice system.
Cases
Tapia v. NaphCare, Inc. (W.D. Wash. 2025) (inmate amputation; $26 million)
Lara v. Garfield County (presuit) (inmate suicide; $2.5 million)
Chiefstick v. City of Poulsbo (W.D. Wash. 2021) (police misconduct / wrongful death; $2 million).
Lacy v. Snohomish County (King County Super. 2021) (police misconduct / wrongful death; $1.75 million).
Davis v. King County (King County Super. 2021) (police misconduct / wrongful death; $1.5 million).
Hufstetler v. Kittitas County (W.D. Wash. 2024) (inmate suicide; $950,000).
Christie v. Washington State Department of Corrections (W.D. Wash. 2024) (inmate suicide; $950,000).
Montgomery v. King County (W.D. Wash. 2021) (inmate suicide; $750,000).
Anderson v. Whatcom County (W.D. Wash. 2021) (inmate suicide; $500,000).
Weger v. Wash. State Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs. (W.D. Wash. 2021) (failure to provide appropriate treatment / conditions of confinement; $245,000).
Williams v. King County (W.D. Wash. 2020) (minor detained in solitary confinement; $57,500).
Covarrubias v. City of Lakewood (W.D. Wash. 2018) (police misconduct / wrongful death; $500,000).
Dahl v. Mason County (W.D. Wash. 2018) (inmate suicide / police misconduct; $2.095 million).
Johnson v. Mason County (W.D. Wash. 2017) (inmate suicide; $1.245 million ).
Bluehorse v. Washington State Department of Corrections (Spokane County Super. 2019) (inmate suicide; $500,000).
Bell v. Valley Medical Center (W.D. Wash. 2019) (patient suicide; $200,000).
Henderson v. Shea (King County Super. 2014) (assault and battery; $1.1 million).
Van Mechelen v. United States (Fed. Ct. Cl. 2016) (taking of Indian lands; $160,033).
CTGW v. Thurston County Treasurer (Thurston Cty. Bd. of Equal. 2014) (prevailed against a county tax assessor who attempted to tax $60 million on personal property owned by a joint venture between a tribal government and a publicly-traded company; company found 100% tax exempt).
State of Washington v. Clark (Wash. 2013) (affirming requirement that state police follow codified tribal criminal procedures on reservation trust lands).
Kosey v. Burke (Umatilla Tribal Ct. 2019) (election dispute; obtained an order securing Board of Trustee’s position in office).
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. USDA (E.D. Wash. 2010) (enjoining the United States from permitting a private company's importation of municipal waste into Yakama Treaty territories).
Memberships
Washington State Bar Association
Trial Advocacy Program Steering Committee, Member, 2013-Present
Washington State Association for Justice
Judicial Relations Committee, 2023-Present
EAGLE Member
National Lawyer's Guild
National Police Accountability Project - Member
National Lawyer's Guild Review, Editorial Board, 2013-present
National Lawyer's Guild Review, Managing Editor, 2010-2013
Bar Admissions
Washington State
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
Suquamish Tribal Court
Nooksack Tribal Court
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Court
Tulalip Tribal Court
Puyallup Tribal Court
Chehalis Tribal Court
Winnebago Tribal Court
Tribal Court for the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians
Muckleshoot Tribal Court
Nisqually Tribal Court
Fort Berthold Tribal Court
Umatilla Tribal Court
Education
University of Washington (LLM)
University of Arizona (JD)
University of Washington (BA)
Publications
Thank You for the Monell Claim: Findings of "No Policy Violation" in Police and Corrections Internal Reviews, Trial News (Feb. 2024)
Leveraging the ‘Special Relationship’ in Jail and Prison Negligence Cases, Trial News (Feb. 2023)
Junk Science & How Gov’t Avoids Truth in Excessive Force Cases, Trial News (Feb. 2022)
The Uncertain Past, Present, and Future of Qualified Immunity, Trial News (Feb. 2021).
Ethics in Tribal Business Transactions, Tribal Business Journal (Jan. 2016).
Doing Business in Indian Country: A Primer, Business Law Today (Jan. 2016).
Forfeiting Federalism: The Faustian Pact with Big Tobacco, 18 Rich. J.L. & Pub. Int. 291 (2015).
Curing the Tribal Disenrollment Epidemic: In Search of a Remedy, 57 Ariz. L. Rev. 383 (2015) (co-author with Gabriel S. Galanda)
Enfranchising Native Americans after Shelby County v. Holder: Congress's Duty to Act, 70 Nat'l L. Guild Rev. 193 (2013)
Economic Development, Native Nations, and Solar Projects, 72 American Journal of Economics and Sociology 122 (2013).
Congress’ Treatment of the Violence Against Women Act: Adding Insult to Native Women’s Injury, 3 University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review 1 (2013).
The Bay Mills Buck Stops With NIGC, Indian Country Today, Nov. 6, 2013 (coauthored with Gabe Galanda).
Why the Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl Ruling is so Troubling, Featured: The Transgender Law Center Blog, Sept. 5, 2013.
Alternative Energy in American Indian Country: Catering to Both Sides of the Coin, 33 Energy Law Journal 431 (2012).
In the Courts of Your Deadliest Enemy, 20 Indian Law Newsletter 4 (2012).
Keeping it Clean for the Future of Indian Gaming, 17 Gaming Law Review and Economics 348 (2012).
Tribal Court Litigation, Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation (2012).
House Republicans Add Insult to Indian Injury, Indian Country Today, July 7, 2012.
Solar as an Economic Development Tool in American Indian Country, International Research Center for Energy and Economic Development Occasional Paper Series, Occasional Paper No. 45 (2011).
Cigarette Tax: Not About Money? (Parts I-III), Native American Times, 2011.
Seminars
Overcoming the Felony Bar: Changes to RCW 4.24.420, Representing Victims of Police Misconduct: Legal Developments and Lessons from the Trenches, June 16, 2021.
Qualified Immunity, 33rd Annual Indian Law CLE, June 11, 2021.
Tribal Panel: From Fishing Rights to the Torts Claim Act, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association’s 23rd Annual Bar Convention, September 22, 2017.
Origins of Tribal Disenrollment, University of Washington School of Law Diversity Week, February 28, 2016.
Navigating the Federal Court System Like a Pro, WSAJ Getting Started in the Plaintiff Practice Series, November 10, 2015.
Finding a Cure for Tribal Disenrollment, 27th Annual WSBA Indian Law Seminar, June 11, 2015.
Banishment: Good Or Bad For Tribal Communities?, Native America Calling, May 5, 2015.
Voting Rights in Indian Country, Nisqually Speaker in the Library Series, November 5, 2013.
New Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Indian Provisions, 25th Annual WSBA Indian Law Seminar, May 23, 2013.
Contracting Opportunities in Indian Country, 19th Annual Washington Construction Law Conference, Seattle, WA, September 13, 2012.
Policing on Indian Reservations, University of Washington, December 6, 2011.
How to Approach Civil Rights in the 21st Century, George Romney Institute for Law and Public Policy Lecture Series, Adrian College, March 7, 2012.
