The controversial court ruling, which caused police departments across the state to stop detaining and arresting people for simple possession of drugs, decided that the state’s strict liability drug possession statute was unconstitutional, violating due process clause protections. At the time of the ruling, Washington was the only state in the nation that did not require prosecutors to prove intent under the felony drug possession statute.
The decision stemmed from the 2016 arrest of Shannon Blake of Spokane. Officers were issuing a search warrant for stolen vehicles and discovered a small bag of methamphetamine in a pocket of jeans Blake said she had received from a friend, unaware that
→ Continue reading at Seattle PI
