Help Fight Corruption by the WSLCB
Donation protected
John Worthington is asking for your help in his lawsuit against the Washington State Liquor Control Board over the corruption of the rules making process. He needs our help to come up with the money.
John had a recent victory in Superior Court after the LCB ruled against him. The Superior Court judge viewed the LCB' s dismissal as "arbitrary and caprecious", and remanded it back for a new hearing.
You can read the details of this case at http://420leaks.com/?p=778
John's expenses include a $290 filing fee due this week. He will also have about $600+ to pay for a copy of the administrative records to be sent to the courts.
John Worthington's case against the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board heads to the Court of Appeals for Division II. The opening brief is due October 17, 2016.
Worthington has contacted an attorney to review the briefing, finish the briefing and appear at oral argument. The attorneys name is Robert Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes is requesting $3500 to take over this case. We have two weeks to meet the mark or come close. The briefing does not end until November of 2016, so there is more than two weeks time to finish paying the attorney's costs. Please contribute if you are able in order to get fair consideration from the courts. Worthington will no doubt continue the case on his own if an attorney cannot be hired, but feels this is our best chance to beat the WSLCB.
View Mr Rhodes website here
Robert Rhodes
We are asking for $4700 to give John the cash he needs to continue this fight to expose this corruption of the process, bringing much needed sunshine on this subject.
Thank you for your continued support. This is your chance to help John make history! Please contribute today so he can get the filing fee paid by Friday, June 10.
Background info:
In October of 2014, Olympia resident Arthur West obtained public records from the Washington State Liquor Control Board showing that there were 17 secret public meetings held during the rulemaking for I-502. [1]
During the West lawsuit, the Washington State Liquor Control Board tried to argue there was a working copy of the I-502 rulemaking file, but that argument was denied by the Thurston County Superior court.
Soon many other public records from the West case made its way to 420leaks.com [2], a site that gathers public records and other information regarding marijuana.
In these documents were evidence of a partnership between many groups, including treatment professionals, law enforcement organizations, the Association of Washington Cities, other notable non-profit government groups, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board. [3]
After reviewing many documents of the partnership’s conduct during I-502 rulemaking, John Worthington of Renton filed a lawsuit challenging the acts of the partnership during the rulemaking process in January of 2015.
Worthington requested to review the I-502 rulemaking file used to develop I-502 rules and was told that the original rulemaking file no longer existed, but that a ”final” copy of the rulemaking file was made available to him.
Several other researchers made the same request and were given differing results.
He then requested an electronic copy through the public records act and was told he was given the “initial” copy of the rulemaking file.
At that point, Worthington filed a petition to adopt, amend and repeal with the Washington State Liquor Control Board and asked them to repeal the rules for I-502 because they tampered with the rulemaking file after the rules for I-502 were made.
Worthington made a rules challenge pursuant to RCW 34.05.375, which challenges the validity of rules that are not developed properly by adhering to several statutes. One of those statutes is the rulemaking file.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board ruled Worthington did not cite any specific rules to be repealed and also ruled they followed the proper procedures for rulemaking outlined in RCW 34.05.375.
Worthington filed a judicial review of that decision. [4]
On May 6, 2016, the Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch ruled the agency decision to deny the petition was arbitrary and capricious and remanded the matter back to the Washington State Liquor Control Board. [5]
Worthington was not satisfied with the decision, as the court had not made a ruling on the rules validity challenge and requested the trial court to answer the issue of whether there was such a thing as a “final” copy of the rulemaking file.
He also asked the court to determine if the rules could still be valid without an “original” rulemaking file.
The court would not rule on that issue despite the fact the issue was before the agency and argued in three briefs to the trial court. It was reasoned that Worthington had not objected to a rulemaking file not being placed into the agency record.
Worthington’s position is that the agency had the responsibility to provide the rulemaking file for a rules review.
He also argued the Washington State Liquor Control Board has admitted the original rulemaking file does not exist, so it is futile to add a final copy to the record.
Worthington also feels the remand to the agency is futile because they have already admitted once the board developed the rules, Karen McCall, the rules Coordinator at the time, permanently altered the rulemaking file, and thus invalidated the rules for I-502.
Now he has to file an interlocutory appeal with the Appellate court in an attempt to get a court to answer the question no court seems to want to answer. Is there such a thing as a ”final” copy of a rulemaking file, and are the rules for I-502 invalidated because the Washington State Liquor Control Board rules coordinator decided to remove documents from a rulemaking file after the board had made rules?
To make matters worse, the original board, consisting of Sharon Foster, Chris Marr, and Ruthann Kurose have admitted under oath they never authorized a “final” or “working” copy of a rulemaking file. Even worse yet is that removing public documents is a class C felony.
As of now, justice seems to elude Worthington and the Washington State justice system has appeared to suborn felony crimes, enabling the Washington State Liquor Control Board to make a mockery of the rulemaking process, without any real consequences other than giving them another chance to lie their way out of being held accountable.
Perhaps a billion dollar industry is special enough to warrant such special treatment, but to the rest of us that are expected to pay traffic tickets and obey the law it is a slap in the face.
[1] Judge Finds WSLCB Broke the Law 17 Times Making I-502 Rules: http://420leaks.com/?p=631
[2] 420leaks.com Public Records Database from Arthur West: https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t/1/2878026511
[3] I-502: OPMA, MMJ, Public Records and the “Partnership”: http://420leaks.com/?p=689
[4] Motion to the court: https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t/1/2733141802/62085057609/1
[5] Judge’s signed order from May 6: https://app.box.com/s/imhug87958zp2cbeggildistb50k25nj
All 420leaks public records available at https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t
420leaks.com
http://420leaks.com/?p=778
John had a recent victory in Superior Court after the LCB ruled against him. The Superior Court judge viewed the LCB' s dismissal as "arbitrary and caprecious", and remanded it back for a new hearing.
You can read the details of this case at http://420leaks.com/?p=778
John's expenses include a $290 filing fee due this week. He will also have about $600+ to pay for a copy of the administrative records to be sent to the courts.
John Worthington's case against the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board heads to the Court of Appeals for Division II. The opening brief is due October 17, 2016.
Worthington has contacted an attorney to review the briefing, finish the briefing and appear at oral argument. The attorneys name is Robert Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes is requesting $3500 to take over this case. We have two weeks to meet the mark or come close. The briefing does not end until November of 2016, so there is more than two weeks time to finish paying the attorney's costs. Please contribute if you are able in order to get fair consideration from the courts. Worthington will no doubt continue the case on his own if an attorney cannot be hired, but feels this is our best chance to beat the WSLCB.
View Mr Rhodes website here
Robert Rhodes
We are asking for $4700 to give John the cash he needs to continue this fight to expose this corruption of the process, bringing much needed sunshine on this subject.
Thank you for your continued support. This is your chance to help John make history! Please contribute today so he can get the filing fee paid by Friday, June 10.
Background info:
In October of 2014, Olympia resident Arthur West obtained public records from the Washington State Liquor Control Board showing that there were 17 secret public meetings held during the rulemaking for I-502. [1]
During the West lawsuit, the Washington State Liquor Control Board tried to argue there was a working copy of the I-502 rulemaking file, but that argument was denied by the Thurston County Superior court.
Soon many other public records from the West case made its way to 420leaks.com [2], a site that gathers public records and other information regarding marijuana.
In these documents were evidence of a partnership between many groups, including treatment professionals, law enforcement organizations, the Association of Washington Cities, other notable non-profit government groups, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board. [3]
After reviewing many documents of the partnership’s conduct during I-502 rulemaking, John Worthington of Renton filed a lawsuit challenging the acts of the partnership during the rulemaking process in January of 2015.
Worthington requested to review the I-502 rulemaking file used to develop I-502 rules and was told that the original rulemaking file no longer existed, but that a ”final” copy of the rulemaking file was made available to him.
Several other researchers made the same request and were given differing results.
He then requested an electronic copy through the public records act and was told he was given the “initial” copy of the rulemaking file.
At that point, Worthington filed a petition to adopt, amend and repeal with the Washington State Liquor Control Board and asked them to repeal the rules for I-502 because they tampered with the rulemaking file after the rules for I-502 were made.
Worthington made a rules challenge pursuant to RCW 34.05.375, which challenges the validity of rules that are not developed properly by adhering to several statutes. One of those statutes is the rulemaking file.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board ruled Worthington did not cite any specific rules to be repealed and also ruled they followed the proper procedures for rulemaking outlined in RCW 34.05.375.
Worthington filed a judicial review of that decision. [4]
On May 6, 2016, the Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch ruled the agency decision to deny the petition was arbitrary and capricious and remanded the matter back to the Washington State Liquor Control Board. [5]
Worthington was not satisfied with the decision, as the court had not made a ruling on the rules validity challenge and requested the trial court to answer the issue of whether there was such a thing as a “final” copy of the rulemaking file.
He also asked the court to determine if the rules could still be valid without an “original” rulemaking file.
The court would not rule on that issue despite the fact the issue was before the agency and argued in three briefs to the trial court. It was reasoned that Worthington had not objected to a rulemaking file not being placed into the agency record.
Worthington’s position is that the agency had the responsibility to provide the rulemaking file for a rules review.
He also argued the Washington State Liquor Control Board has admitted the original rulemaking file does not exist, so it is futile to add a final copy to the record.
Worthington also feels the remand to the agency is futile because they have already admitted once the board developed the rules, Karen McCall, the rules Coordinator at the time, permanently altered the rulemaking file, and thus invalidated the rules for I-502.
Now he has to file an interlocutory appeal with the Appellate court in an attempt to get a court to answer the question no court seems to want to answer. Is there such a thing as a ”final” copy of a rulemaking file, and are the rules for I-502 invalidated because the Washington State Liquor Control Board rules coordinator decided to remove documents from a rulemaking file after the board had made rules?
To make matters worse, the original board, consisting of Sharon Foster, Chris Marr, and Ruthann Kurose have admitted under oath they never authorized a “final” or “working” copy of a rulemaking file. Even worse yet is that removing public documents is a class C felony.
As of now, justice seems to elude Worthington and the Washington State justice system has appeared to suborn felony crimes, enabling the Washington State Liquor Control Board to make a mockery of the rulemaking process, without any real consequences other than giving them another chance to lie their way out of being held accountable.
Perhaps a billion dollar industry is special enough to warrant such special treatment, but to the rest of us that are expected to pay traffic tickets and obey the law it is a slap in the face.
[1] Judge Finds WSLCB Broke the Law 17 Times Making I-502 Rules: http://420leaks.com/?p=631
[2] 420leaks.com Public Records Database from Arthur West: https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t/1/2878026511
[3] I-502: OPMA, MMJ, Public Records and the “Partnership”: http://420leaks.com/?p=689
[4] Motion to the court: https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t/1/2733141802/62085057609/1
[5] Judge’s signed order from May 6: https://app.box.com/s/imhug87958zp2cbeggildistb50k25nj
All 420leaks public records available at https://app.box.com/s/46qnsr90gnnazb3d2r0t
420leaks.com
http://420leaks.com/?p=778
Organizer and beneficiary
John Novak
Organizer
Seattle, WA
John Worthington
Beneficiary
