Reviewing Blake decision impacts as WA prepares to payout millions

SEATTLE - As the Blake Refund Bureau prepares to pay out millions of dollars in previously paid court fees and fines, the impact of the Blake decision on courts and prisons is coming into view.

In Feb. 2021, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that the state’s drug possession law was unconstitutional, voiding the long-standing law.

The move created a wide-ranging set of outcomes: it’s estimated that more than 200,000 felony drug possession charges dating back to 1970s were eligible to be vacated. This included people serving time behind bars and those who were already free. Tens of thousands of misdemeanor marijuana charges were eligible to be vacated, as well.

"There were so many different layers of this decision that we kept peeling back, and realizing that there were all of these details that had to be looked at," said Skagit County Superior Court Judge Laura Riquelme. "There wasn’t a blueprint for it."

"Resentencing was identified as being the most urgent of all topics, because we knew that there were people who were actively serving sentences in jails or prison on these charges, and that we were going to need to address that," she said.

According to the Department of Corrections, 1,336 people received an immediate release, meaning within 90 days of resentencing. Others had sentences shortened.

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A "Blake triage team" working under the Administrative Office of the Courts noted that more than 4,000 individuals in prison have unvacated possession convictions in their criminal history, though they estimate that less than 1,000 would benefit from resentencing. 

Efforts have been ongoing to both resentence individuals affected by the Blake decision, while also refunding money. Since the law people were convicted under was deemed unconstitutional, money paid for fines and court fees must be returned.

Given the state has 39 counties with 39 different systems, a statewide approach was unveiled earlier this year to create the refund bureau that could tackle the unprecedented task of vacating thousands of past convictions, and refunding people money.

"If you’ve been convicted of drug possession from 1971 to 2021, it’s likely that you have a Blake-related conviction," explained Robin Zimmermann, the senior communications officer for Administrative Office of the Courts.

"For individuals that are curious if this impacts them, if they want to talk to someone, they can go to the courts where the conviction was issued. If they don’t want to go that route, yet, they can talk to Office of Public Defense which has a designated Blake hotline," she said.

All in all, roughly 300,000 convictions are estimated to be linked to this new refund bureau. It’s not known how many individuals will be affected, since some individuals faced multiple convictions—and the decision stretches back so far it’s undetermined how many people are still alive.

The refund portion of the Blake-decision has garnered less attention in the two years immediately following the decision.

The legislature had to move quickly to find a stop-gap law to criminalize drugs. A long-term solution proved harder to iron out—the 2023 legislative session wrapped up before lawmakers could strike a deal on a new law, causing a special session where a replacement law was finally passed.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Washington lawmakers pass bill keeping drugs illegal

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There was also immediate concerns for people serving jail time for convictions that were voided by the decision.

Still, the refund aspect is a rather large component given how many people are likely to be affected. Over the course of five decades, millions of dollars in legal financial obligations (LFOs) were collected; now that money is owed to those individuals. Those fees can now be reimbursed to those who are eligible and apply, no interest will be factored in.

For more information on how to get a drug conviction tied to the Blake-decision off your record, the Office of Public Defense has a website State v. Blake (wa.gov) with resources and information.

The OPD’s Blake team can be reached by phone at (360) 586-3164 extension 218.