Thread by @mjs_DC

This is a fantastic article on the sweeping consequences of the Washington Supreme Court's recent decision striking down the state law that had criminalized drug possession. It's great to see progressive state courts bending the arc of justice. courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/9…

https://twitter.com/KromanDavid/status/1370393441314643968

It's a fascinating decision—the law punished individuals who *did not know and had no reason to know* they possessed drugs. The defendant alleged, quite plausibly, that she had borrowed a pair of jeans from a friend without realizing the coin pocket contained a tiny bag of drugs.

The Washington Supreme Court, which is the most diverse high court in the country, ruled that the state constitution's due process guarantee prohibited the legislature from criminalizing "innocent conduct—or, more accurately, nonconduct." So it struck down the entire statute.

As a result, simple possession of drugs is now legal under Washington State law. A huge number of people convicted under the voided statute will be resentenced. Some will be freed and refunded fines and fees. Criminal records will be cleared. Deportations may be stopped.

The Washington legislature will implement a new, constitutional statute criminalizing drug possession—but it cannot impose the law on prior offenders. So thousands upon thousands of people punished for simple possession under the old law will still have their convictions erased.

Just yesterday, the Washington Supreme Court also issued a decision prohibiting a mandatory sentence of life without parole for 18 and 19-year-olds. It previously barred *all* sentences of life without parole for people under 18. courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/9…

When governors appoint people with diverse perspectives, identities, and life experiences to the bench, good things happen. The world becomes a more just place. Imagine if presidents were as committed to judicial diversity as WA Gov. Jay Inslee. /end
slate.com/news-and-polit…