Seattle mayor, city attorney want to set aside misdemeanor pot convictions

SEATTLE -- It's a move that could change the lives of hundreds of people facing fines and potential jail time.

The city of Seattle is hoping to wipe away up to 600 convictions for marijuana possession.

For years, city leaders have said marijuana crimes are the lowest priority. But some still do get prosecuted. Setting those convictions aside could be a new lifeline and second chance---because now---marijuana's all perfectly legal.

“We believe justice should not wait,” Mayor Jenny Durkan said at a Thursday news conference.

Both Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes have been the faces of fighting crime for more than half a decade.

Both support giving people with criminal records new hope.

“It is really a necessary step to right the wrongs of what was a failed 'War on Drugs,'” Durkan said.

Specifically the war on marijuana. The city will now comb through upwards of 600 convictions for marijuana possession from the late 1990s until last decade and wipe them clean.

Central District community voice Earl Lancaster agrees.

“To let these people out of their petty crimes, for a little marijuana, I think that's the right thing to do,” he said.

Lancaster has seen his neighborhood ravaged by the war on drugs---and says it's government hypocrisy to keep conviction records of something that's now legal.

“A lot of people went to jail on that corner for selling pot. And now it's a legalized big industry right now,” he said.

Kevin Sabet is with the Smart Approaches to Marijuana group that is skeptical of legal pot.

“There's no doubt that the people who are making money are probably already rich. They have the capital to invest in marijuana. And it's really the new tobacco industry,” he said via Skype.

He cautions that the mayor needs to strongly vet who is getting a pass.

“Many people actually plead down from other charges to marijuana,” Sabet said.

The city says it is still setting up the steps it would take to remove conviction records. The court would have to agree to the plan first. Yet for Durkan it's about a clean slate from a crime that can hurt opportunities for housing, jobs, credit and education.

“While we cannot reverse all the harm that was done, we can give back to those people a record that says they were not convicted,” she said.

Later Thursday night, Presiding Judge Karen Donohue of the Municipal Court of Seattle issued this statement:

“I support the Mayor and City Attorney’s intent to help individuals vacate a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction and recognize the barriers such convictions create. Seattle Municipal Court judges are obligated to apply Washington State law, RCW 9.96.060, that provides the legal basis and authority for vacating a misdemeanor record. Judges must evaluate each individual request in accordance with these statutory requirements. Until we receive the City’s motion, we do not know how many individuals will be eligible to have their misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction vacated.”