Slog Comments
King County Dismisses All Small-Scale Marijuana Possession Cases As a Result of I-502's Passage
23
@21, they weren't thrown under the bus, they were already there, along with everyone else, and we pulled out as many as we could. Washington voters can't change federal finaid policies, and we couldn't have passed the legalization we did without the public support that was highly contingent on the "but what about the children" factor.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
22
Wonderful news!
@14: It is such a beautiful thing that that post, and especially the LOTR clip, exists on the official SPD blotter.
Did Jonah Spangenthal-Lee work for The Stranger once upon a time?
@14: It is such a beautiful thing that that post, and especially the LOTR clip, exists on the official SPD blotter.
Did Jonah Spangenthal-Lee work for The Stranger once upon a time?
21
Hey, I voted for it, but how about you people who voted for it with a sneer in your mouth justify the difference between a 21 year old who gets his case dismissed and a 20 year old who gets a conviction and is no longer eligible for federal student financial aid? Assholes. You avoided and lied about this part with your condescension. We threw them under the bus and it isn't pretty.
18
@5- yes on probation you are required to follow all local, state and federal laws as a term of probation. So it is a violation of probation to possess marijuana in WA state. Don't know how much muni will bust on this however DOC definitely will bust a probationer for pot possession.
17
I'd say that this is something when you consider that the no on 502 people thought the cops had a super quest to bust stoners. This doesn't exactly fit the bust all stoners profile.
16
@13 only for we citizens of Seattle and Tacoma. The poor suburbanites were still being treated as serfs, while we urban dwellers were free.
14
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2012/11/09…. This is the funniest thing I've ever read on SPD blotter.
13
I could've sworn they started dismissing minor MJ possession cases 2 years ago... unless I just imagined that happened with my case...
12
@10, do you really think that there's a single judge in King County that would deny a four-week continuance on the basis that this crime will expire? Seriously, this is a nothing move.
10
@9 To be fair, he's choosing to honor the spirit of the new law, which goes into effect in a month, rather than the letter of the old law, which remains on the books until then.
9
Shouldn't this headline read "Person Sworn to Uphold Law Fails to Violate Oath"? It's not like this is a heroic move or anything. It would have taken guts to refuse to charge these cases years ago. But now he's just doing what the law says. Zzzzz.
6
Yes elections have consequences. Wonder what the anti-502 nimrods think of this? I am going to enjoy rubbing salt into their wounds as the consequences of 502's passage continue to ripple out.
4
Few people are currently imprisoned for simple possession of an ounce or less. There are likely many that are imprisoned because some small-scale marijuana offense was their third strike, and I doubt Inslee would decide to offer clemency to those individuals. I'd love to hear otherwise. Also would be great if someone could remove those marijuana offenses from a person's criminal background checks, also seems unlikely.
3
@2 that would also immediately save the state money (not having to pay for their further incarceration)... it'll be interesting to see what happens.
2
Given Jay Inslee's previous non-support of I-502, an excellent way for him to get on board with the new law would be to summarily provide clemency to all currently incarcerated offenders who were imprisoned for possession of an ounce or less.
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