Court halts Washington law letting unelected board remove elected sheriffs
Ari Hoffman
Lamb called the ruling “a fantastic day for the Constitution.”
A Thurston County judge dealt a major blow to Washington Democrats’ controversial new sheriff oversight law on Wednesday, halting key provisions of Senate Bill 5974, including the ability of an appointed board to remove elected sheriffs, just hours before it was set to take effect.
In a win for a coalition of Eastern Washington sheriffs, Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller granted a preliminary injunction preventing the core components of the law, including its most disputed section, from being enforced while the case moves forward.
According to The Center Square, the ruling came after arguments on Wednesday afternoon between attorneys representing four elected sheriffs and lawyers for the state. The law had been scheduled to go into effect at midnight on April 30.
SB 5974, passed by Democrat lawmakers and signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, was framed as a measure to “modernize” eligibility requirements for sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders. But critics have warned from the outset that the law goes much further, allowing a governor-appointed board to remove elected sheriffs from office.
Specifically, the legislation gives the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) the authority to decertify sheriffs who fail to meet certain standards, effectively removing them from office, even if they were elected by voters. Opponents argue that the provision represents a fundamental shift of power away from the public.
“The most concerning provision of SB 5974 grants an unelected state board the authority to remove a duly elected sheriff from office,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison previously said. “This represents a fundamental shift of power away from voters and toward centralized authority.”