Seattle files motion to vacate marijuana possession convictions

SEATTLE — Seattle has filed a motion with Seattle Municipal Court to vacate convictions and dismiss charges for marijuana possession for people prosecuted by the city from 1997 to 2010, officials announced Friday.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said Friday that if approved by the court, 542 people would have their records affected.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes stopped charging for marijuana possession when he became city attorney in 2010. Read the whole announcement from Durkan at this link. 

A plan to vacate misdemeanor marijuana convictions that occurred before pot became legal was announced in February.

Durkan said people’s lives were ruined for misdemeanor marijuana offenses and the action would be a first step in putting progressive values into action.

“Addressing decades of unjust convictions – and particularly the damage wrought on communities of color – won’t happen overnight,” Durkan said in February. “We must provide more effective alternatives to prosecution and incarceration through drug and mental health courts, restoring rights and supporting re-entry.”

You can confirm whether you have a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction by visiting this Seattle Municipal Court portal.

More news from KIRO 7

• 3-year-old run over, killed by lawnmower near Snohomish
• Seahawks trade down, draft San Diego St. RB Rashaad Penny
• Illicit affair prompted 'calculated, planned' murder-suicide that left 2 women dead, police say
• Another norovirus outbreak closes a Tacoma restaurant
• A Pierce County dad beat his 6-year-old for taking a waffle at school, charges say

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

Cox Media Group