HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 14601
RESOLUTION NO. 1460
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS,
WASHINGTON, EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A
DWLS III DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED THIRD DEGREE
PROGRAM UTILIZING THE USE OF PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION AND
OTHER METHODS PROMOTING SOCIAL EQUITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
WHEREAS, Council acknowledges there are various reasons a person may have their
license suspended in the third degree (DWLS III), ranging from failure to comply with
the terms of a traffic infraction to more serious reasons such as failure to comply with
state law provisions relating to uninsured accidents; and
WHEREAS, Council recognizes that DWLS III is considered a “crime of poverty” that
disproportionately impacts communities of color and lower-income drivers, therefore
significantly harming vulnerable populations experiencing economic insecurity; and
WHEREAS, Washington taxpayers have spent an estimated $1.3 billion plus enforcing this crime
between 1994 and 2015 according to a 2017 report conducted by the American Civil Liberties
Union of Washington (ACLU), with each case costing an estimated $924; and
WHEREAS, in 2019 the City of Edmonds spent an estimated $150,000 on prosecution, defense,
and jail costs related to DWLS III; and
WHEREAS, in 2019 DWLS III prosecution in the City of Edmonds accounted for approximately
25% of the public defender’s case load, 59 nights in jail, and approximately doubled the case load
of the Edmonds Municipal Court; and
WHEREAS, DWLS III studies comparing Washington with states that do not treat DWLS III as
a crime do not show increased road safety in Washington, indicating added prosecutorial
resources have not resulted in improved public safety; and
WHEREAS, the cities of Vancouver, Lynnwood, Yakima, Spokane, Seattle, and the counties of
Snohomish, King, Spokane, and Clark are currently addressing incidents of persons driving with
a suspended license third degree (DWLS III) through the issuance of the No Valid Operator’s
License II (NVOL II) infraction and through other criminal diversion or deferral processes; and
WHEREAS, based on statewide research and statistics from Edmonds Municipal Court,
the diversion of some DWLS III cases out of the criminal system would have positive
benefits to community members, the city, and relevant justice stakeholders; and
2
WHEREAS, in 2020 Councilmembers Paine and Distelhorst began gathering information
from relevant stakeholders to determine if continuing to cite drivers with DWLS III was
meeting the city’s goals of public safety and social justice, and whether it is the best use of
limited city resources; and
WHEREAS, Councilmembers Paine and Distelhorst approached Mayor Nelson explaining
some of the concerns outlined above; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Nelson and Acting Chief Lawless have since implemented a
policy of issuing a citation for DWLS III only in certain circumstances in order to
better balance social justice and equity, public safety, and effectively allocating
limited city resources; and
WHEREAS, Council believes this policy change maintains public safety and will
contribute to the following goals:
Goal 1. Social justice and equity
Goal 2. Assisting eligible drivers in getting
relicensed Goal 3. Effective allocation of limited
City resources
WHEREAS, the Council supports the use of City resources to be redirected toward a
program supporting the relicensing of eligible drivers in appropriate circumstances;
and
WHEREAS, with the above goals in mind, the Council joins the Mayor in identifying
this as an unmet need in our community and promoting work toward equitable and
effective treatment of instances of DWLS III in the city;
NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, HEREBY
RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
1. The City Council formally requests the Executive and Judicial departments and
city prosecutor and public defense work together to design and implement a DWLS III
Relicensing program to include the following elements:
(1) The exercise of prosecutorial discretion to divert drivers who are
struggling to pay traffic fines through the issuance of a No Valid
Operator’s License II (NVOL II) infraction and assisted in entering
the Relicensing program; and then to ensure that drivers who present
an immediate threat to public safety are prosecuted;
(2) Our municipal court’s participation in a program with other courts,
such as the Unified Payment Program in order to assist relicensing