OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington Supreme Court has struck down part of the state’s felony drug possession law because it doesn’t require prosecutors to prove that someone knowingly or intentionally possessed the drugs.
The ruling has enormous ramifications for law enforcement agencies across the state as evidenced by a decision by the Seattle Police Department to immediately halt making arrests for a suspected simple drug possession offense.
“The Seattle Police Department will follow the law and has already issued this directive, effective immediately,” the department said to KOMO News in an emailed response. “This morning the Washington State Supreme Court ruled RCW 69.50.4013 unconstitutional. RCW 69.50.4013, also known to as simple drug possession, is no longer an arrestable offense. It also cannot be used as a legal basis to seize an individual.”Volume 90%KOMO
The ruling by the state Supreme Court was issued in the case of a Spokane woman who had received a pair of jeans from a friend that had a small bag of methamphetamine in a pocket.
Five justices said in a decision Thursday the state law was unconstitutional because it criminalized her passive, unknowing conduct, in violation of her due process protections. Another justice would have overturned the woman’s conviction by interpreting the law as requiring proof that the drugs were possessed intentionally.
In its statement, Seattle police said they also would not confiscate drugs from an individual based only on a violation of the law.
“This ruling also does not limit officers’ ability to conduct investigations involving other illegal drug activity,” the police statement said. “However, officers must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to investigate those other crimes, and those other crimes cannot rely nor be based upon RCW 69.50.4013 as the underlying crime.”
