Tell Olympia: Protect Youth Access to Counsel

Act Now

Currently, in communities across our state, police officers can ask youth to waive their constitutional rights and then interrogate or search them.

This endangers the well-being of Washington’s youth, particularly Black, Indigenous, and young People of Color who experience unwarranted and disproportionately frequent contact with law enforcement. To achieve a just future for our community’s youth, we must recognize the still-developing brains of young people and demand that they be able to make fully informed decisions when asked to waive their rights.

Urge your lawmakers to support ESHB 1140 and provide young people in Washington with access to legal counsel before they waive their constitutional rights.

Message Recipients: Washington Senate

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Subject Support Youth Access to Counsel

Dear Legislator,

I am writing to urge your support for ESHB 1140, which provides young people with access to legal counsel before they waive their constitutional rights.

Currently, in communities across our state, police officers can ask youth to waive their constitutional rights and then interrogate or search them. Studies show that youth, whose brains are still developing, do not fully comprehend the consequences of waiving their rights, have a harder time asserting them, and are also much more likely than adults to waive them. This endangers the well-being of Washington’s youth, particularly Black, Indigenous, and young People of Color who experience unwarranted and disproportionately frequent contact with law enforcement. To achieve a just future for our community’s youth, we must recognize the still-developing brains of young people and insist that they be able to make fully informed decisions when asked to waive their rights. The safeguards in this legislation are essential to protecting vulnerable youth from coercion and ensuring that they are not exploited.

ESHB 1140 will advance justice and improve public safety by addressing this vulnerability that youth experience in the face of police interrogations. It will help them feel that they were treated fairly – which is a key component of “procedural justice.” Youth are more likely to comply with the legal system when they feel the system and its actors are not violating their constitutional protections. This greater sense of procedural justice will, over time, result in a reduced crime and lead to cost savings.

ESHB 1140 builds on laws passed in Seattle and King County as well as California. This bill will not prevent police from “doing their jobs.” In fact, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin noted that the policy has had a positive effect on public safety, stating that San Francisco’s Ordinance providing youth with access to counsel “makes our community safer and has not diminished my office’s ability to prosecute serious and violent crimes.”

Message Body

To assure a fair and just future for our community’s youth, we must recognize the still-developing brains of young people and insist that they can make fully informed decisions when asked to waive their rights.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Tell Olympia: Protect Youth Access to Counsel

Act Now

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