What happened

The appeals court agreed to an emergency stay of a ruling that has thrown Spokane’s court system into disarray. That ruling, handed down last week, has the potential to invalidate a dozen years of DUIs and other misdemeanors and lead to the release of more than 100 jail inmates.

A city attorney argued: Without a stay, there will be “utter chaos” in the court system.

A public defender argued that inmates affected by last week’s ruling shouldn’t have to wait while the city appeals to the state Supreme Court.