Following a judge’s recent decision to partially block Washington state’s new law regarding sheriff accountability, the attorney spearheading the legal challenge has expressed strong confidence that the legislation will ultimately be struck down entirely.
Speaking on KIRO Newsradio’s The John Curley Show, attorney Joel Ard sharply criticized Senate Bill 5974, labeling the measure “a giant bucket of unconstitutionality.”
The contested legislation grants the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) the authority to strip an elected sheriff of their certification in cases of misconduct. Under the law, losing this certification results in automatic removal from office.
Ard and the sheriffs he represents argue that the law bypasses constitutional protections and democratic processes by giving an unelected state board the power to override the will of voters who elected those local officials. With a portion of the law already temporarily halted by the courts, the legal team is preparing to argue that the entire framework violates the state constitution and cannot stand.
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