Washington's Supreme Court Just Overturned Nearly All Drug Possession Charges

JUSTICE JUST IN

Washington's Supreme Court Just Overturned Nearly All Drug Possession Charges

Submitted by Molly Bradley 2 days ago  

In the Blake decision, the Washington Supreme Court voided most drug possession cases in the state. The implications will be huge.

The Lede

For a long time, Washington remained the only state in which the burden of proof in drug cases fell on the defendant: if someone was found with drugs, they had to prove the drugs didn't belong to them, rather than the prosecution having to prove that they did. But in one particular case, a lawyer pointed out the inconsistencies in the way the law has been enforced and successfully convinced the Supreme Court that the WA law, as it stands, is unconstitutional.

Key Details

• In 2016, police in Spokane arrested a woman named Shannon Blake and found meth in her pocket, which she said belonged to a friend. She had to prove this in court.
• Her lawyer, Richard Lechich, referred to a case where a woman unknowingly bought a crochet kit full of cocaine and prosecutors did not press charges.
• He argued the law actually implied that the burden of proof was on prosecutors — and if not, the law was in violation of "innocent until proven guilty." Judges agreed in a 5–4 decision.

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