(The Center Square) – On Friday, the second lawsuit against the new sheriff decertification bill that took effect in part on Thursday received a motion hearing before the same Thurston County Superior Court judge who granted a motion for a preliminary injunction in a similar lawsuit two days prior.
And like in the Wednesday case, the judge sided with the plaintiffs, who received a preliminary injunction blocking the main parts of the new law.
Friday’s motion hearing was brought by the Washington State Sheriff’s Association and Kitsap County Sheriff’s candidate Rick Kuss, who sought to block the law from taking effect.
Asotin County’s Undersheriff Blake Richards is also a plaintiff in the case, as he’s running to replace the retiring sheriff in that county.
Kuss would have been precluded from running for sheriff because he lacks the five years of consecutive law enforcement experience required under the bill.
However, the section of the bill dealing with that requirement was put on hold in Wednesday’s preliminary injunction from Thurston County Superior Judge Christine Schaller
At the onset of Friday’s hearing, it was unclear how the judge would proceed, given her previous ruling.
The hearing began with arguments from Kuss’s attorney Joel Ard, and Freeman Halle from the office of the Washington Attorney General.
“It doesn’t make sense that Rick Kuss doesn’t get to allow the voters of Kitsap County [to decide] whether he should be sheriff, where his current boss with essentially the same law enforcement qualifications can run the largest sheriff’s office in the state,” Ard said.
He was referring to King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, who was appointed to the position, not elected, but who received a carve out in the bill to allow her to remain in office despite her limited law enforcement experience.
Halle with the AG’s office urged the judge to reject the motion for an injunction.
“They have not shown a well-grounded fear of substantial harm. There’s a lot of talk about harm to voters here, but they haven’t said anything about the fact this doesn’t restrict anyone’s ability to actually vote,” Halle said.
Schaller disagreed with the State’s argument in her ruling and said the additional requirements for sheriff candidates are far more burdensome than any other elected local, county or statewide officials.
“There is a fundamental right to seek elected office,” Schaller said.
“I find that the plaintiffs clearly have a well-grounded fear of immediate evasion of their rights. If the court were not to grant a preliminary injunction, these plaintiffs would be precluded from filing for office,” Schaller added.
“You can only file your declaration of candidacy for one week and it’s May 4-8. That certainly is a well-grounded fear of the invasion of their rights.”
She said no other candidate for elected office in Washington is required to be investigated by another agency, while SB 5974 does require the Washington State Patrol to investigate candidates, including social media posts and associations.
As with Wednesday’s preliminary injunction in the other lawsuit with four eastern Washington sheriffs being the plaintiffs, the part of the bill she put on hold with her ruling was Section 9 of the legislation.
That section concerns requirements for sheriffs, including being at least 25 years old and serving for five consecutive years in law enforcement.
That law enforcement experience requirement was the main objection in Friday’s challenge.
Section 9 also concerns social media posts and associations that the criminal justice training commission might determine to be objectionable and potentially lead to decertification or prevent a candidate from running.
That part of section 9 was the main First Amendment concern for the plaintiffs in the other case heard on Wednesday.
After sharing hugs and handshakes of congratulations from those in the courtroom, candidate Kuss, who has been a deputy for the King County Sheriff’s Office since 2023, spoke with The Center Square.
“Just so happy to be part of the team standing up for voter’s rights and the people’s rights to choose their sheriff, it’s a good day,” he said.
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank also attended the hearing. There has been speculation that backers of the sheriff decertification bill would use it to remove Swank from office for social media posts and public statements he has made, including a statement that “trans women are still male,” a statement Swank told TCS this week, he stands by.
“I’m supporting this gentleman here running for Kitsap County Sheriff,” said Swank as he pointed to Kuss standing next to him. “I think he’s gonna be a great sheriff.”
“For the state legislature to pass legislation to preclude somebody from running for office is such an overreach,” he added.
“It’s to go after people like me, to keep us from being sheriffs and to remove us from office. But this fight isn’t over yet since they can file directly to the State Supreme Court and I’m worried about that court,” Swank said.
On Friday, the office of Attorney General Nick Brown filed a motion with the State Supreme Court requesting a stay of Judge Schaller’s preliminary injunction order from Wednesday.
“This Court should stay the superior court’s indefensible order so the law can take effect,” according to the motion. “This relief is urgent because the new law regulates eligibility for the office of county sheriff, and the filing period for sheriff candidates is May 4-8.”
“Without immediate action from this Court, Defendants will lose any fruits of their underlying appeal, because the important rules the Legislature concluded should apply to this process will be enjoined. Defendants request a ruling by May 4,” noted the court filing.
Kuss told The Center Square he is pressing ahead with his candidacy.
“I’ll be filing at 8 a.m. on Monday morning at the Kitsap County Auditor’s office,” he said.
