The House just passed the resolution to amend the Constitution. That means voters will decide if judges should get more leeway in denying bail to accused criminals.

So … how would the Constitution be changed?

Currently, bail can only be denied in capital cases — that means aggravated murder. If voters approve the Constitutional amendment, judges will be able to deny bail to those accused of crimes punishable by life in prison — that means those facing a third strike for most offenses or a second strike for some sex offenses.

And: There must be “clear and convincing evidence” that the accused has a propensity for violence and would be a danger to the community if released.

Also: The Legislature can set further policy regarding bail in the future.

Read the bill report here.

Tags: bail, Constitutional amendment

The Senate is debating the bill to send a Constitutional amendment on bail to voters. Watch live on TVW now, or keep updating here.

Sen. Adam Kline: “We expect that if anyone is going to be denied bail, it must be by clear and convincing evidence.” He said bail is a Constitutional right for all but capital crimes now. And that those who are presumed innocent should not be denied bail unless they are a real threat. He said the most important clause is that the end of the amendment, which allows the Legislature to set bail policy. “I can’t think of a better reason to be in this body than what we’re doing right now.”

Sen. Mike Carrell started to talk, but then a group of several dozen people in the gallery started signing “Amazing Grace” (or a song to that tune). They’re now being escorted out. In TVW’s feed, the protesters could be seen singing from cards and filming it.

Carrell: “Thank you … you can see an exercise of one of the rights we’re working on,” he said. He thanked Gov. Chris Gregoire for helping work the amendment out. “It’s going to address the needs of my community and particularly the murders that appeared in Lakewood, so that something like this will hopefully never happen in this state again.” He said it’s only the third time the public safety portions of the Constitution have been amended. “This is also really important because we are again looking not just at separation of powers but balancing powers.”

Sen. Jim Hargrove: “The reason it’s important that we have this ‘clear and convincing evidence’ and this high standard is that these people are presumed to be innocent,” he said. “I think we’ve taken this very seriously and I think our vote today will reflect that.”

They passed the amendment. It now heads back to the House.

Tags: bail

The Senate will soon vote on the bill to amend the Constitution regarding bail. The bail amendment, if passed by the Legislature, must be voted on in order to stick.

Here’s the new language being suggested (bolded):

“Article I, section 20. All persons charged with crime shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses when the proof is evident, or the presumption great. Bail may be denied for offenses punishable by the possibility of life in prison upon a showing by clear and convincing evidence of a propensity for violence that creates a substantial likelihood of danger to the community or any persons, subject to such limitations as shall be determined by the legislature.”

Tags: bail

With a week and one day to go in the legislative session, I sat down with Speaker Pro Tempore Jeff Morris to talk about the unresolved issues heading down the stretch.  He gave great insight into negotiations over a constitutional amendment on bail and called on the governor to wield influence in the debate. The business community will also be interested to hear about last-minute proposals to offset sharp increases to workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance rates.

On the tax front, I talk with Senator Randy Gordon and Rep. Ross Hunter.  Rep. Hunter gave a big plug to the power of public testimony.  You’ll hear about changes to the tobacco tax proposal after yesterday’s Finance Committee hearing. You’ll also learn where the House and Senate have found common ground.

In our weekly committee segment, we have Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe and Rep. Bruce Dammeier talking about education: basic education reforms, Race to the Top reforms, math and science graduation requirements, drop-out prevention, and early learning.

You can watch The Impact Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on TVW.

Tags: bail, taxes, The Impact, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation

The Constitutional bail on amendment is up in the Senate Judiciary Committee right now. There are two bills being considered — the House bill and the Senate striking amendment. You can read about what the sponsors of each have to say below. Here is the bill.

“Today is the day and now is the time,” said Rep. Mike Hope, one of the sponosors of the House bill. He said they spent time with stakeholders to make sure they were crafting the right bill. “I believe that we’ll have an overwhelming amount of support if this goes to a vote of the public.”

There has been some emotional testimony this morning from relatives and friends of victims, including families of victims.

“I know that the first thing lawmakers see is the cost of things, but whatever it is, it’s nowhere close ot the price I’m paying,” said the daughter of one officer who was killed.
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Tags: bail

The Senate is working through a list of bills aimed at addressing public safety in the wake of the police shootings in Lakewood last year.

Here’s a run-down so far:

SB 6316 requires more coordination between the Department of Corrections and local law enforcement.

SB 6548 suspends supervision if a criminal is charged with another felony. It passed unanimously.

SB 6550: assault an officer while on probation, get thrown in jail for up to a year. It passed unanimously.

SJM 8026 asks Congress to fix the Interstate Compact asap. That’s the agreement among states that governs the exchange of supervised offenders. It passed unanimously.

SB 6293: Help out a family member who is running from the law and face a Class C felony charge. It passed unanimously.

SB 6673 creates a task force to study bail procedures in Washington state, where it’s a Constitutional right for all but a few suspected criminals to get bail. The bill passed unanimously.

SB 8218 amends the state Constitution so that third strike offenders are not allowed bail. That passed 43 to 4. It will now be sent to voters.

(Senate adjourned and back on the floor at 9:30 a.m. House has already adjourned, will be on the floor at 10 a.m. Good night.)

Tags: bail, interstate compact, public safety

The House just passed the bill to amend the Constitution to allow judges more flexibility when setting bail, 80 to 17.

Rep. Chris Hurst said the amendment won’t deny people freedom — people will still be innocent until proven guilty.

Rep. Brad Klippert: “I wish we were using the original language put forth by the governor,” he said. But, he said, being a law enforcement officer and seeing the horrific crimes, “I stand firm and strongly encourage a unanimous yes vote.”

Rep. Sharon Nelson: “Justice is a two-way street,” she said, adding that she could not vote for the bill. “I believe this is too far reaching and I ask you not to support it.”

Rep. David Taylor: “Does it go far enough? Certainly not,” he said. But, it will prevent crimes like the Lakewood shooting, he said.

Rep. Roger Goodman: “With the striker narrowing (this bill), I am able to support it,” he said. “We are amending the Constitution and this is serious business…. but we are, I believe, giving this due consideration.” He said the Legislature has to be careful not to violate separation of powers — “the original bill just would have yielded” power to judges, he said.

Tags: bail, Constitutional amendment

Here’s the bill report for House Bill 2625, which would require judicial review of bail for felony offenders.

Rep. Troy Kelley said the House will also be voting on bills to create a Constitutional amendment to allow judges more flexibility in determining bail and another to address the Interstate Compact, which many lawmakers have said is flawed.

Kelley said a judge should set bail. But, because of court cases and other issues, some counties use a chart to determine bail in some instances. “A judge’s job is to set bail, is to make a decision based on their experience and training” he said.

Rep. Matt Shea said the shooting in Lakewood may have been prevented if a judge would have reviewed Maurice Clemmons’ bail before he was released. He said Clemmons had so many felony charges, he should not have been released on bail without review.

Rep. Roger Goodman said when he first found out Clemmons was released without a judge reviewing the bail, he was infuriated, but he’s realized you can’t legislate based on anger. He said this bill is the reasonable approach to the problem.

Rep. Mark Ericks: “The men and women of the police departments of this country are dedicated to protecting our lives,” he said, from the “very few people that cause the most problems.”

The bill passed unanimously.

Tags: bail, public safety

The bill to create a task force to study bail practices is up in the Senate Judiciary Committee (and live on TVW) now.

“This is partly because we have a Constitutional right in this state, and I think it’s important to study it carefully and not be rushed to judgment by the current political atmosphere,” said Sen. Adam Kline, on why he proposed the bill. He said everyone — defense lawyers, prosecutors, bail bondsmen and law enforcement — need to come together to discuss the issue.

Steven Warning, president-elect of the Superior Court Judges Association, said rushing to fix the issue without studying it would not be wise, so his organization supports the task force bill. “We certainly need to make changes,” he said, “but quick changes, I think, in this circumstance is pretty much guaranteed to have some consequences, and not necessarily good ones.”

Tags: bail, bail task force