Washington Supreme Court declines attempt to reinstate sheriff standards law

May 6-OLYMPIA - The Washington Supreme Court declined to reinstate new sheriff rules that a Thurston County Judge put on hold last week following a lawsuit from Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels and other Eastern Washington sheriffs.

After a ruling by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller, the state filed an emergency motion to the state Supreme Court to pause the Superior Court's injunction pending review, which would allow the law to take effect.

On Tuesday, Deputy Court Commissioner Walter Burton denied the request. That means the law will remain on hold as the lawsuit proceeds in the courts.

"Immediate implementation of the provisions applicable to sheriffs risks rendering candidates who are qualified under the former law but not under the new legislation unable to file or qualify for candidacy during the current one-week filing window," Burton wrote in his decision.

Passed by the Legislature earlier this year, the measure would require sheriffs to have five years of full-time law enforcement experience, no felony or gross misdemeanor convictions, be at least 25 years old and have no prior conduct that would result in their state certification as a peace officer being revoked by the Criminal Justice Training Commission.

The law had been set to take effect last Thursday.

Nowels, Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee, Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke and Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber filed a lawsuit on April 3 alleging that the law's requirements are unconstitutional and would grant an unelected board illegal authority to remove an elected representative from office.

"There is not one case, there is not one statute, there is not one example in the history of our country where an unelected body has been able to remove an elected official from public office because of what they spoke, because of what they wrote, because of who they associated with or because of how they freely exercised their religion," attorney Mark Lamb, who represented the sheriffs, said during an April 29 hearing. "This is an absolutely egregious overreach by the Legislature."

Burton wrote Tuesday that should the law be upheld on appeal, "the offices of any sheriffs then serving who cannot meet the eligibility requirements will be vacated and those sheriffs may be replaced by qualified individuals."

"Staying the preliminary injunction, on the other hand, risks irreparable deprivations should the provisions applicable to sheriffs be invalidated by final judgment," Burton wrote.

Debbie Novak, a member of the Washington State Coalition for Police Accountability, which pushed for the legislation, said Tuesday she was disappointed by the court's recent rulings.

"We're not asking for anything of our leaders, meaning our police chiefs, our marshals and our chiefs, that we're not already asking of our frontline officers," Novak said. "At the very least, they should have to meet the requirements that their subordinates have to meet."

Novak also pushed back on comments Schaller made during a separate hearing Friday, in which she said it "appears that the Legislature does not trust the people of the state of Washington to have good judgment and to elect people to the office of county sheriff" who have the desired qualifications.

"I think people are busy and they expect their government to govern, and to make good decisions," Novak said of the Legislature and governor, who passed and signed the legislation. "And these are their elected officials."

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 7:08 PM.