And another thing …
One county’s error hits them all. How would you like to be the worker or workers responsible for not following through on signature verification for those disputed ballots in King County? That mistake means that each county has to eat the costs of the manual recount because the result was overturned. That’s a total of $730,000 statewide if the current leader, Democrat Christine Gregoire, is declared the winner in Washington’s governor race.
Had those ballots been handled properly, Gregoire would’ve emerged as the leader after the machine recount (as opposed to trailing by 42 votes), and the Republicans would’ve had to foot the bill for the manual recount if they chose to request one.
In a race so close, Republicans can’t be blamed for wondering about those late-breaking ballots, but the fact that they weren’t counted the first time saved them a lot of money.
Some are more equal than others. All Americans expect and deserve equal treatment in the criminal justice system. Rightly so.
Yet the courts must be on guard not to let such a basic value be co-opted for self-serving purposes. Thus, the Washington state Supreme Court wisely turned down the claims advanced on behalf of two women who were arrested on drug possession charges but were denied the opportunity to go through drug court.
Drug court is an innovative concept that diverts certain non-violent, first-time drug offenders into a treatment program, giving them a chance to clear their records and redirect their lives. It’s been shown to reduce recidivism.
However, it has a price tag that not all Washington counties choose to pay. Spokane County is one that does. Stevens and Grays Harbor are two that do not.
Unfortunately for Katherine Keithley and Melody Harner, they committed their offenses in the latter two counties and went to jail instead of drug court. They sued, claiming a violation of due process.
The Supreme Court was unanimous in finding their claim invalid. Good thing, because to establish drug court as an entitlement in all counties just because some offer it would discourage resourceful programs because they could inadvertently become mandates.
It would be great if all 39 counties in Washington provided drug court. It would be horrible if those that do began to abandon it for fear of imposing an unaffordable burden on the others.