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Sophia Aldous
Hearing set for May 1
NEWPORT – A lawsuit filed by four Eastern Washington sheriffs, including Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee, had its first hearing in Pend Oreille County Superior Court Thursday, April 16 to a packed court room. The lawsuit challenges Senate Bill 5974, a new legislative bill establishing stricter qualifications for law enforcement leaders.
Lincoln County Judge Adam Walser moved to have the case heard in Thurston County, where a similar legal challenge is already underway. Candidate for Kitsap County sheriff Rick Kuss filed a separate, but similar, lawsuit, along with the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association in Thurston County Superior Court. The association represents all 39 county sheriffs across Washington.
Walser agreed with the argument from Washington State Attorney General’s Office Solicitor General Noah Purcell, who said that since the legislation was considered and enacted during the legislative session, it should be considered in Thurston County, where the state capitol is located, rather than Pend Oreille County.
“I am going to agree with the state on this,” Walser said. “It doesn’t make sense to have diverging rulings on the same lawsuits from superior court judges across the state. Based on the similarities and manner of the lawsuits, it saves time and resources for both cases to be heard together.”
The four sheriffs that brought the litigation, including Blakeslee, are Brad Manke of Stevens County, Ray Maycumber of Ferry County and John Nowels of Spokane County. According to court records filed by the sheriffs’ attorney Mark Lamb of Carney Badley and Spellman, the sheriffs maintain the new law is undemocratic and forces them to sign a “loyalty oath” attesting they’ll meet heightened state standards to keep their jobs.
Senate Bill 5974, signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson on April 1 and scheduled to take effect April 30, establishes stricter eligibility rules for sheriffs, police chiefs and town marshals, including mandatory background checks, a minimum age of 25 and at least five years of law enforcement experience.
Candidates must also have no felony or disqualifying misdemeanor convictions and must obtain and maintain peace officer certification.
A preliminary injunction hearing is set for Friday, May 1 in Thurston County. According to a prior interview with The Miner, Sheriff Blakeslee said Spokane County would pay for the initial attorneys fees, followed by the other three counties contributing financially to costs as the lawsuit proceeds.
The Miner filed a public records request with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office on April 9 for lawsuit costs. A reply email from the sheriff’s office sent on April 16 said the records request would be fulfilled on or before Friday, May 15.
SOPHIA MATTICE-ALDOUS IS A MURROW NEWS FELLOW WORKING DIRECTLY WITH NEWSROOMS AT THE NEWPORT MINER AND RANGE MEDIA THROUGH A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY. HER REPORTING IS AVAILABLE FOR USE VIA CREATIVE COMMONS WITH CREDIT.
