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Judge Stevens criticizes 'Blake' decision, links it to visible community effects
Summary
Judge David Stevens argued the state Supreme Court's 'Blake' decision led to visible increases in open drug use and public disorder and said ideological shifts on the court altered outcomes of criminal cases.
At a televised forum, Judge David Stevens told interviewer Erica Scribe that the Washington State Supreme Court's decision in the case referred to in the transcript as the 'Blake decision' had broad social consequences. "You know about the Blake decision when they said that drugs were legal in Washington State," he said, connecting the ruling to increases in open drug use and people living on sidewalks in Seattle.
Stevens framed the decision as part of an ideological shift on the court: he said the same issue had come before the court multiple times over decades but that the court's more recent rulings reflected ideological choices rather than strictly historical interpretation. He presented that as a primary reason he is running for the state Supreme Court, saying voters need justices who will 'tell the truth about what's going on.'
