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Dear Friends,
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. I want to thank all the brave people in uniform who have risked their lives to defend our country. We honor their sacrifice through our work.
Tragically, this Independence Day was marked by another senseless mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, millions of American women lost a fundamental freedom this month. My office will continue fighting to defend our basic rights in order to fulfill the great promise of America, including the right to choose, freedom from discrimination and the freedom to marry. We will also continue working to keep you and your family safe from mass shootings and other gun violence.
This month I would like to share my reactions to several high-profile Supreme Court decisions, and provide an update on my work to improve public safety.
Supreme Court reactions:
- Reproductive Freedom: As long as I serve in public office, no one will take away Washingtonians’ right to choose. Washingtonians enshrined their right to reproductive freedom into law by voting to pass the Reproductive Privacy Act. I will use every tool to defend this law, and we will fight every legislative effort to remove these fundamental protections. Moreover, I will use my authority to ensure Washington welcomes any individual who comes here to access the fundamental right to reproductive justice. You can see my social media posts here and here. I proudly stood beside elected leaders and choice advocates to reaffirm my commitment to protecting Washingtonians’ fundamental and legal right to choose. You can watch my remarks here.
- Gun violence: The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a longstanding New York firearm law has no immediate impact on Washington. Our state does not have a similar law. That said, the decision ignores legal precedent, endangers public safety and highlights a radical shift by the Supreme Court.
- Hanford worker protections: Because we worked with the Legislature to pass a law to address the issues the federal government raised, there is little practical impact in Washington as a result of this ruling. Hanford workers, and all others working with dangerous radioactive waste, remain protected. The federal government has not challenged this new law. If they do, we will defend these protections all the way back up to the Supreme Court again if we have to. As long as I’m Attorney General, I will fight for Hanford workers.
- Big Bank Tax: The biggest banks in the world went to court to overturn a Washington tax on banks that make more than $1 billion in annual profit. (Yes, more than $1 billion in profit in a single year.) The Legislature passed the tax in 2019. The Supreme Court declined to hear the big banks’ appeal of our State Supreme Court victory. The law remains in place.
Improving Public Safety: My criminal justice authority is limited. My office is primarily a civil law enforcement office. The enforcement actions that I file on behalf of the people typically seek to stop illegal conduct and attain civil penalties and financial restitution for Washingtonians who are harmed.
I do not employ law enforcement officers except for a team of Medicaid Fraud investigators who investigate health care fraud and vulnerable adult abuse. My office cannot investigate or prosecute crimes without a formal referral, generally from a county prosecutor. I cannot direct the actions of police chiefs of sheriffs.
I do employ a small team of prosecutors who focus primarily on the following types of cases:
- Homicide cases in small counties;
- White collar crime, such as fraud;
- Vulnerable adult abuse;
- Wage theft;
- Public corruption and police accountability;
- Environmental crimes;
- Human trafficking and child sexual abuse.
My Criminal Justice Division also handles all Sexually Violent Predator civil commitment trials in every county except King County. These cases involve individuals whose mental illness makes them more likely than not to commit violent sexual offenses against children or strangers.
While my criminal authority is limited, I do have additional tools to improve public safety. For example, I can exercise my convening authority to bring together law enforcement leaders to address a crisis. I can dedicate resources to help solve cold cases and clear the state’s rape kit backlog. And I can propose legislation and policies to improve public safety.
Last month provided examples of all of these tools in action.
- Closing a DNA collection loophole for sex offenders and violent offenders: Last month my office announced the second phase in our lawfully owed DNA project. We identified 387 sex, kidnapping and homicide offenders still living in Washington who illegally failed to provide DNA samples after their criminal conviction. Of these 387 individuals, we have already collected 102 new DNA profiles, and we are working on collecting samples from the remaining individuals. DNA helps solve cold cases and can exonerate individuals wrongfully convicted. Out of respect to victims and survivors of crimes, and for the rule of law, this work must be done. (More information here)
- Convening an Organized Retail Crime Task Force: I’m leading a statewide effort to combat organized retail crime. These sophisticated crimes endanger workers, hurt businesses, including small businesses, and cause significant economic harm to our state. I am convening a task force that will improve communication and coordination among law enforcement agencies to address this multi-jurisdictional crime. (More information here)
- Prosecuting sex predators: We held two individuals accountable for preying on children — part of a multi-agency operation in Yakima County targeting individuals seeking to rape children. (More information here and here)
- Combating gun violence: The legislation I proposed to ban the sale, manufacture, import and distribution of high-capacity magazines with the capacity to hold more than ten rounds of ammunition went into effect on July 1. Yet, as the country mourns an endless string of mass shootings, the gun lobby sued me and others seeking to overturn this law. My legal team and I are undefeated in court against the gun lobby. All seven appellate courts to look at high-capacity magazine sales bans have upheld their constitutionality. We expect to prevail. (Read news coverage on the case here)
We will continue to seek justice and protect the health and safety of all the people in Washington state.
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