Tumwater to be reimbursed for compensating defendants affected by State v. Blake decision

Tumwater’s public health and safety committee recommended an agreement with the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to help the city refund payments made by defendants affected by the State v. Blake decision. 

City administrator John Doan explained during the committee’s meeting on Tuesday, November 8, that AOC shall reimburse Tumwater in two ways.

AOC will reimburse Tumwater with a maximum of $28,795 for the return of any financial and legal obligations that an affected defendant had paid. The court shall also reimburse Tumwater with a maximum of $24,868 to pay for extraordinary costs that may have occurred or are occurring as prosecution or public defense unwind relevant cases.

State v. Blake was a 2021 Washington State Supreme Court decision that ruled the felony drug possession law unconstitutional. This meant that a person who was convicted of simple possession of a controlled substance may have their conviction removed and may also be eligible for refunds if they have paid any legal financial obligations.

“This created a burden on our court systems… to be able to track those things and be able to refund those,” Doan said. “In some cases, these become incredibly complicated because you have prior convictions that were underlying subsequent court action.”

AOC will reimburse Tumwater until June 30, 2023. Requests for reimbursement beyond this date or above the maximum amounts will be denied. According to the agreement, the timeline may be extended should the state legislature provide additional funding.