Judge blocks key parts of Washington sheriff decertification law

(The Center Square) - A Thurston County Superior Court judge has granted a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent SB 5974, the new sheriff decertification law from taking effect on Thursday, April 30.

Judge Christine Schaller heard arguments from the plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Lamb, representing four eastern Washington sheriffs seeking to block the law from being implemented at midnight, and from Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell from the office of Attorney General.

The decision does not prevent the law from eventually being fully implemented, but means the bulk of SB 5974 will not take effect until the lawsuit plays out and the constitutionality of the measure is determined by the court.

Section 9 of the legislation was enjoined. That section concerns requirements for sheriffs, including being at least 25 years old, serving for five consecutive years in law enforcement, and most importantly for the plaintiffs, precludes the CJTC from going back over social media or potential associations that the commission could find issue, aimed at decertifying an elected sheriff.

Other less significant parts of the bill were also put on hold ahead of the midnight deadline for going into effect.

Three of the sheriff’s in the lawsuit were present in the courtroom, and as lawyers for the state and their attorney discussed the Section 9 injunction, told The Center Square, that section was their main objection.

“We count this a big win,” said Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels.

The plaintiffs in the case are Sheriffs Nowels (Spokane County), Glenn Blakeslee (Pend Oreille County), Brad Manke (Stevens County), and Ray Maycumber (Ferry County).

“My clients swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and here we are today to defend the Constitution on their behalf,” Lamb told Judge Schaller.

“This motion is brought to protect the constitutional rights of candidates, sheriffs and voters, while this litigation proceeds to a decision on the merits.”

“Why is SB 5974 unconstitutional…there is sixty years of unbroken case law reinforced by a United States Supreme Court decision four weeks ago that such laws are presumptively unconstitutional,” he added.

Solicitor General Noah Purcell urged the judge to reject the preliminary injunction motion, saying there is no evidence that any of the sheriffs or candidates would face immediate harm by allowing the bill to take effect April 30.

“Senate Bill 5974 is a duly enacted law that serves important purposes. It’s entitled to the presumption of constitutionality,” he said.

“The burden is on the plaintiffs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the law is unconstitutional, and they have not come close to meeting that burden,” Purcell said.

Schaller, who just got the case last week when it was moved from Pend Oreille County, said she had spent a great amount of time reading all the briefs and responses.

She then detailed the constitutional issues she sees in the law, especially holding sheriffs to a much higher bar than other elected officials and allowing the Criminal Justice Training Commission, an appointed member board, to remove a sheriff from office, even for social media posts or associations with individuals the commission finds offensive.

That was the main challenge from Lamb, citing it was a major overreach and violating of First Amendment protections.

After hearing the arguments and reading a lengthy prepared statement, Schaller said she would grant the preliminary injunction.

But then came questions from Purcell, who asked the judge which sections of the legislation she was enjoining, or was it the entire law.

Schaller then urged the state and plaintiff’s attorneys to come to their own agreement on what was being injuncted and after more than an hour of back and forth, Lamb said they agreed to put Section 9 “and a few other parts” on hold.

“If the law was allowed to go into effect, it would also trespass on our constitutional right to run for office and to have unfair qualifications put on sheriffs that are put on no one else,” said Nowels just outside the courtroom as they waited for the two sides to hash out details.

“It’s a fantastic day for the Constitution and a fantastic day for the four sheriffs that we represent,” said Lamb in an interview with The Center Square. “We’re really gratified that the judge did that work and explained her reasoning clearly on the record.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the result,” he added.

On Friday, a separate hearing for another lawsuit against the bill is scheduled for a hearing, but today’s decision may mean that suit will not proceed. In that case, Kitsap County Sheriff candidate Rick Kuss was suing as the bill prevents him from seeking office. But again today’s injunction may mean that legal challenge is unnecessary.