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Criminal Justice

The Bill of Rights protects us against suspicionless searches and seizures. It guarantees due process to individuals who are accused of crimes and humane treatment to those who are incarcerated. The ACLU works to ensure that our criminal justice system indeed is just.

Racist Comments by Jurors Undermined Right to Fair Trial

December 18, 2009
Jurors’ derogatory comments about the Japanese ethnicity of an attorney indicated racial bias that undermined a man’s right to a fair trial. The ACLU-WA is urging the Washington Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that ordered a new trial.
 

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Arrestees Should Not Have Their DNA Taken

A person’s DNA is the blueprint of one’s identity. The ACLU-WA opposes proposals to collect DNA from people who are merely arrested, regardless of whether they are convicted.
 
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Denying Bail

Bills: HJR 4213, HJR 4214, HJR 4220
Position: oppose
Status: The measure has passed the legislature, was signed by Gov. Gregoire, and will appear on the fall ballot.
Several bills have been proposed that would amend the Washington Constitution to expand the authority of judges to deny bail to individuals accused of various crimes based on potential dangerousness. The measures have been put forward in response to the recent tragic shootings of police officers. Link to Action Alert »
 
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Seizing Property

Bills: HB 2413, SB 6784
Position: oppose
This bill would authorize police officers to seize personal property without obtaining a warrant or making an arrest, based solely on their own belief that the property was involved in unlawful gang-related activity. It places the burden on the former property holder to file a claim to regain the property and to pay associated legal fees. Innocent landlords, small businesses, spouses, parents, and others may lose property based on the suspected activities of others and have no effective way to get it back.
 
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Ending Violence Requires a Comprehensive, Community-Driven Strategy

Beverly Ibsen
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:41 am
Gangs present a serious public safety challenge to our communities.  But the approach that our state has instinctively turned to in the past—relying on arresting and jailing those believed to be involved in gangs—fails to get to the root causes of the issue, and likely makes it worse.  To be sure, for Washington cities dealing with violent crime, such as those in the Yakima Valley, meeting this challenge means appropriately punishing violent offenders.  But it is equally critical to find avenues through which individuals can leave gangs and reenter the community.  Simply imprisoning gang members and telling them to leave gangs doesn’t work if there’s nothing else for them to do, and no resources to help them get out.

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"Crack Is Whack": The Hierarchy of Addiction

Alison Holcomb
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Last week the Seattle P-I publicized the fact that Seattle's University District needle exchange, privately funded and operated by the People's Harm Reduction Alliance, had added clean crack pipes to its arsenal of disease-prevention weapons.  KING 5 News picked up the story, as did KIRO Radio.

Many of the reader comments posted to the stories reflect the expected divide in public opinion about needle exchange programs.  On the one hand are those who understand that certain strategies focused on reducing the societal and personal harms of drug abuse not only "meet addicts where they are" and provide a compassionate link to treatment and recovery, they also save tax dollars that would otherwise be spent on emergency rooms, hospitalization, and uninsured treatment of Hepatitis C, HIV, and AIDS.  On the other are those who think harm reduction strategies simply enable addiction, and addicts would be better served by a dose of "tough love" - or simply left to die from overdose or the diseases they contract.

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Jaywalking Incident: Police Need Training in How to De-escalate

Jennifer Shaw
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 11:01 am
This is not an isolated incident. The Seattle Police Department has a long history of allowing jaywalking citations to escalate into use of force situations. The pattern is very predictable:  The officer sees a jaywalker, orders the person to come to him, gets angry when the jaywalker either doesn’t respond or argues, and ends up either in a physical confrontation or an arrest for an obstruction charge or both.
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Alison Holcomb

How to Achieve Less Crime and Less Punishment: End the War on Drugs!

Mark Cooke
Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Check out this video of Alison Holcomb, ACLU-WA Drug Policy Director, debating the merits of the War on Drugs with renowned criminal justice Professor Mark Kleiman, WA Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail, King County Superior Court Judge Wesley Saint Clair, and King County Prosecutor Mark Larson.
 
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Mayor Vetoes Panhandling Bill

Mayor McGinn has vetoed Seattle's unnecessary and divisive proposed panhandling law. Kudos to the Mayor and Council members Harrell, Licata, O'Brien, and Rasmussen for courageously opposing it -- let them know you appreciate their stand. The ACLU's Shankar Narayan (pictured above) spoke at the veto ceremony.  
 
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