No longer can police and courts assume that a person was in possession of drugs just because they had them on their person, or were near them in some capacity. Now, the state must prove that someone knowingly possessed drugs. The consequences of this ruling for people with current and former drug convictions cannot be understated.
There are a wealth of social problems connected to the American criminal legal system. Instead of a harm reduction or a medical approach, our nation mostly addresses mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and poverty and homelessness through arrests, citations, convictions and incarceration. In fact, the three largest psychiatric care providers in this country include Rikers Island jail, Cook County Jail and the Los Angeles County jail. In the United States, over 550,000 people with mental health disorders live in cages. Of those, approximately 75% have co-occurring disorders, such as chemical addiction.
Over the past 45 years, the United States has experienced a 500% increase in the number of people who live behind bars. More than 2.2 million people roughly the size of New Mexicos population are incarcerated in the United States. Our status as one of the most punitive countries in the world results from policy choices closely linked to drug convictions.
The practical consequences of the Blake decision will become clear over the months and years to come. Chief among them is the question of legal debt.
Alongside the explosion in rates of incarceration, the criminal legal system has increased its reliance on monetary sanctions, or legal financial obligations fines, fees, restitutions and related costs associated with citations, court processing, convictions and punishments. As a result of the ruling, monetary sanctions associated with past drug convictions may need to be refunded. Juliana Roe, policy director of the Washington State Association of Counties, told Crosscuts David Kroman that the state and many of its counties have received between $24 million and $47 million in legal financial obligations from people with drug charges. How to make those people whole financially invokes much larger questions of justice and reparation. It is those questions we must attend to in the wake of Blake.
Financial penalties are imposed on people for reasons ranging from traffic citations to juvenile, misdemeanor and felony convictions. In the past 15 years, Washington state has imposed roughly $343 million in mandatorily imposed costs alone. These are associated with all misdemeanor and felony convictions in Washington at a rate of $250 and $500, respectively.
However, the money that people are forced to pay does not stop there. Also levied are fines, discretionary court costs, interest and payment costs. Consider this: In Washington state, simple possession of a small amount of cocaine can result in a $10,000 fine.
Our state has aggressively attempted to collect outstanding legal financial obligations. Some jurisdictions have contracted with private collection companies, which, by statute, can add up to 50% additional collection costs to the person who owes monetary sanctions. And, since 2013, county clerks have had the authority to examine employment earnings, garnish wages and ask judges to issue bench warrants for arrests related to nonpayment. In research for my book, A Pound of Flesh, I found that some counties in Washington state would regularly incarcerate people for up to 60 days when they failed to makes payments on their legal debts, including those who were unemployed or homeless.
A wide range of consequences attends those unable to pay their criminal legal court costs. In Washington state, for example, when people are unable to pay a traffic citation and appear in court, their license can be suspended. This results in an absurd situation in which people too poor to pay their penal debt lose the right to drive, in some cases preventing them from getting to work to make money. If a person is driving with a suspended license and pulled over by the police, they can be cited, fined up to $1,000 and forced to spend 90 days in jail. (A recent report in Seattle found that Black drivers receive a disproportionate amount of these citations.)
We are at a reckoning with our state and national criminal legal system. Our state Supreme Court has found simple drug possession cases to be illegitimate. All of these convictions came with an array of punishments, including large amounts of monetary sanctions that have devastated individuals and communities throughout Washington state.
Now, the question is this: How will the state attempt to make people with these convictions whole? Will the state pay back the legal financial obligations that so many were required to pay, with interest? How can a system that has dismantled lives and communities make amends and reparations to the victims of unjust prosecution, convictions and punishments? We must ensure that we as a public stay vigilant to how the state will redress its wrongs just as vigilant as the state has been in punishing, and demanding money from, the thousands of individuals whose drug convictions are now void.
Continued here:
Opinion | After Blake, will Washington state repay victims of the war on drugs? - Crosscut
- The dark legacy of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines - WBUR News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Step up war on drugs and illicit liquors - Nation - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Forum From the Archives: Brutality of Philippines War on Drugs Laid Bare in Some People Need Killing - KQED - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Commentary: We need to rethink how we address drug use - Maryland Matters - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Liberia: Boakai's War on Drugs Gains Momentum - Liberian Daily Observer - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Tactics are shifting in the war on drugs - Financial Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- End overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem ... - OHCHR - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- HSCSO making a dent in the local war on drugs - Malvern Daily Record - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The Drug War on the Border Doesn't Work - Progressive.org - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- 'When I walk to school, I can see people shooting up.' How Seattle's ... - KUOW News and Information - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The best gifts ever? Being named after drugs and declaring war on ... - POLITICO Europe - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Latin America This Week: September 20, 2023 - Council on Foreign Relations - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The drug trade is taking over Latin America - PRESSENZA International News Agency - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd. Completes Reverse Take-Over ... - The Dales Report - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Critics claim drug use clemency proposal to reduce overcrowding in ... - asianews.network - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- War on illicit drugs | Police warn of meth production, collusion with ... - Fiji Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- From Grief to Action - The Stranger - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Police in region to discuss war against drugs - Khmer Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Five die in suspected drug turf war in Richards Bay - Durban - IOL - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Mayor Bruce Harrell Shares His New Pitch for the War on Drugs - The Stranger - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Illinois Governor Signs Supervised Release Bill To Help Drug War ... - Marijuana Moment - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Activist: Automatically expunging cannabis convictions is step ... - MPR News - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- What the crack epidemic reveals about America - The Boston Globe - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 'The war on drugs has failed: Sir Richard Branson tells LBC there ... - LBC - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- An Enemy in Mexico - The New York Times - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Betrayal on the Bayou, a New Season of Hit Podcast Smoke Screen ... - Sony Music - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Worldwide Wednesday's International Roundup: Bangladesh, China ... - Death Penalty Information Center - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 46 Bacolod local government workers test positive for drug use - Rappler - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Jon Bernthal's 12 Best Movies, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- We Are Continuing the War on Drugs - The Stranger - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Clemency Is One Answer to the War On Drugs | American Civil ... - ACLU - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- As Evidence Mounts That 'War On Drugs' Has Failed, Harm ... - Health Policy Watch - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Families of victims await justice as the ICC reopens Philippines drug ... - NPR - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Why Trump and other Republicans want to go to war in Mexico - Vox.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- New Queensland drug laws will keep thousands of people out of justice system, advocates say - ABC News - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Ben Cohen's Cannabis Company Tries to Undo the Harm of the War ... - Seven Days - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Pt. 2: The war on cannabis - Cabrini College Loquitur - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Globe editorial: The tide is turning, but the war on drug overdoses is ... - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Eric Clapton Bringing Crossroads Guitar Festival to L.A., With 41 Guests Ranging From Buddy Guy to the War on Drugs - Variety - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Evaluation of all PNP senior officers has significant impact on war on ... - Manila Bulletin - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- War on Drugs Poster Campaign launched at Pangei bazaar - Pothashang - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Mary Jane, MJ, Weed, Oh my! - The Post - The Post - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Opinion: In defence of drug dealers' humanity - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: Incarceration for marijuana needs to ... - The Daily Orange - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Today in History: April 23, Hank Aaron's first home run - Sent-trib - Sentinel-Tribune - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would have helped war on opioids - Colorado Springs Gazette - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Positioned to succeed: Organization offers educational program for ... - Youngstown Vindicator - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Miniature organs driving precision medicine and new drug discovery - University of Arizona - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 18 concerts to see this week, including Father John Misty, Nickel ... - The Key @ XPN - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 'They are not helping PRRD' | Philstar.com - Philstar.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Brandon Ali: By 18 he had a shotgun. At 19 he was smuggling drugs. Age 20 he had murdered a man - Teesside Live - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Kindiki team shores up gains in drugs, illicit brews fight - The Star Kenya - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- The US Has Spent $1 Trillion Fighting The War On Drugs A Failure, Say The Authors Of New Cannabis Book - Forbes - April 17th, 2023 [April 17th, 2023]
- Gov. Kathy Hochuls cannabis crime bill will destroy lives and restart the War on Drugs (guest column) - newyorkupstate.com - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Official says war on drugs is 'here, local' following discovery of 10K fentanyl-laced ecstasy pills in Silsbee - 12newsnow.com KBMT-KJAC - March 26th, 2023 [March 26th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs: History, Policy, and Therapeutics - Dominican University - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs - Crime Museum - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- What Is the War on Drugs? - WorldAtlas - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- 9 Important Pros and Cons of the War on Drugs ConnectUS - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration - A Brief History of Civil ... - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The Former Mexican Official Who Oversaw His Nation's War on Drugs Went on Trial in the ... - Latest Tweet - LatestLY - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Women and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs as Structural Racism - Penn LDI - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Phony War on Drugs - The New York Times - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Biden pot pardon to help with War on Drugs' harms to Black people : NPR - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- War on Ivermectin: The Medicine that Saved Millions and Could Have ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- IN NUMBERS: The Philippines' 'war on drugs' - RAPPLER - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Race, Mass Incarceration, and the Disastrous War on Drugs - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- The Irrational War on Drugs - consortiumnews.com - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Race and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Sound Summit 2022: a guide to the Bay Areas highest music festival - SF Chronicle Datebook - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Here's how health and wellness will show up on Denver's November ballot - Denverite - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 10 Monday AM Reads - The Big Picture - Barry Ritholtz - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Colombian president Gustavo Petro calls for an end to the War on Drugs ... - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The U.S. has spent over a trillion dollars fighting war on drugs - CNBC - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- From wounded Latin America, a demand comes to put an end to the ... - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The War On Drugs, 'Oceans Of Darkness' - WNCW - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- How the War on Drugs failed Democracy and society - IPS Journal - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- This Day in History, October 14th, 2022 War on Drugs - Signals AZ - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Best Phoenix Concerts This Week: The Black Keys, Karol G, The War on Drugs - Phoenix New Times - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]