Whether or not drug use penalties are enforced and prosecuted in Seattle may all depend on city councilmembers.
In an expected vote on Tuesday, councilmembers will be asked to approve, or deny an ordinance that gives police and City Attorney Ann Davison the authority to enforce the state law.
The state’s new law makes drug use a gross misdemeanor. The city ordinance would mirror the state law, but we are learning that they could be split on this issue.
The ordinance, if passed, would give Davison and her office the power to prosecute these cases and, or push for treatment. It is the city attorney's office that handles misdemeanor crimes. Davison wants the ability to have that enforcement power.
If the ordinance does not pass, that is where things can get complicated. It could create serious concerns about whether police and the city attorney have the power to enforce state law.
It could also be up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which handles felonies, to take on that new responsibility.
“If this doesn’t pass by the city council, it would, in effect, decriminalize controlled substances in the city of Seattle. I don’t think that it would be prosecuted by the King County Prosecutor, and I think it would be a sad state here in the city otherwise," Davison said.
King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion sent a letter of clarification to councilmembers and Mayor Bruce Harrell, urging them to pass this ordinance, adding that the city attorney and police need the ability to enforce this.
Manion said, “The PAO (prosecuting attorney’s office) does not have the funding or the staff necessary to take on a new body of misdemeanor cases.”
She went on to say, “There also is the question of whether Seattle police have jurisdiction to investigate these types of crimes without a Seattle ordinance mirroring state law. There are thorny issues and legal questions that the city of Seattle must explore and address with the help of legal counsel.”
This ordinance is also in uncharted territory. Usually, city council ordinances have to go through smaller committee votes before they are presented for a full and final decision.
This ordinance has effectively 'skipped the line' and is being brought up Tuesday, a move which city officials said is rare.