New law extends the accountability obligation in cases of hate crimes across WA

Governor Bob Ferguson signed on Monday in Law HB 1052 – it is a legislation that aims to improve the accountability obligation in cases of hate crimes. The law, which is used by the public prosecutor's office of King County, Leesa Manion, will help to address the confusion in the current statutes of hate crimes and to ensure that criminals are held accountable for their actions.

The state representative Cindy Ryu and Senator Manka Dhingra's senator led the indictment to sponsor the legislation, which deals with a problem of the current law that has made it difficult for the prosecutors to raise certain hate crimes.

MP Cindy Ryu (left) and the public prosecutor of King County, Leesa Manion, in the Capitol building and celebrated the signing of HB 1052, a new law to strengthen the accountability of the Hass crimes in Washington. (Photo on the public prosecutor's office of the King County public prosecutor)

“If there is evidence that people have been victims through a hate crime or partly due to the prejudices of a defendant – these perpetrators have to be held accountable. The prosecutors need this legal solution to ensure that this is done,” said Manion.

At the center of the problem was the confusion caused by the existing language in RCW 9a.36.080, which defines a hate crime as a “because of the identity of a victim”. The jury tried to understand whether the bias of a defendant must be the only motive for the crime or just a factor. This uncertainty has led to “unclosed” judgments in cases in which the distortion was one of several motifs.

The new law that will come into force at the end of July will add the expression “in whole or in part” for “because of”. This change becomes clearer that hate crimes can be charged, even if the distortion is only a factor for the crime. Other states, including California, have a similar language in their hate crime laws.

Manion was a loud advocate of the reform of the hate crimes laws in Washington. In 2023 she supported another important legislation, ESB 5623, which made changes to the treatment of hate crimes before the courts. ESB 5623 was signed by governor Jay Inslee in April 2023. It also expanded the definition of hate crimes by attacks that do not lead to physical injuries.

Since 2018, the King County public prosecutor has treated 355 cases of hate crimes.

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