State v. Harner

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court considered whether the absence of a county drug court violated defendants’ rights to equal protection and due process. It held that RCW 2.28.170 permissively authorizes counties to establish drug courts, creates no entitlement to drug-court participation or treatment, and does not violate either constitutional protection when a county lacks such a program. The court affirmed the defendants’ convictions and sentences.

Holdings

1. The State's standing challenge was waived because it was not raised in the trial court.
2. The absence of a drug court in the county where a defendant is charged does not violate the defendant's right to equal protection.
3. The absence of a drug court in the county where a defendant is charged does not violate the defendant's right to due process because no constitutional right to participate in drug court exists.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants had standing to challenge the absence of county drug courts when the State first raised standing on appeal.
2. Whether RCW 2.28.170, as applied in counties that had not established drug courts, violated the defendants' equal-protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and article I, section 12 of the Washington Constitution.
3. Whether the absence of drug courts in the defendants' counties violated their due-process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and article I, section 3 of the Washington Constitution.

Disposition

affirmed