Seattle to Vacate Past Criminal Convictions for Marijuana Possession
SEATTLE, WA Following in thefootstepsof San Francisco, Seattle city officialsannouncedThursday that they will be vacating the criminal convictions of former marijuana offenders.
Seattles mayor and city attorney plan to ask the courts to vacate all misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions that were prosecuted before the plant was legalized in Washington state in 2012.
Between the years 1986 and 2010, police in Washington made an estimated240,000 marijuana possession arrests.
This action is a necessary first step in righting the wrongs of the past and putting our progressive values into action, said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. Our action will affect people who had been convicted of offenses for conduct that is now legal under state law. People wont have to take any actions like hiring a lawyer or going to a court hearing. I hope these actions were taking here in Seattle can lay the foundation for other cities, counties and states to act, too.
Last week, the San Francisco District Attorneys officeannouncedthat it will review, dismiss, and ...