State v. Blake

481 P.3d 521 (2021)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P’s strict liability drug possession statute, RCW 69.50.4013, makes possession of a controlled substance a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Police executed a search warrant seeking evidence of stolen vehicles. Three people were arrested on the property, including D. At the jail, a corrections officer discovered a small baggie containing methamphetamine in the coin pocket of D’s jeans. D was charged with a violation of RCW 69.50.4013. D claimed “unwitting possession.” A friend had bought the jeans secondhand and given them to D two days before ds arrest. D she had never used methamphetamine and did not know the jeans had drugs in the pocket. D’s boyfriend also testified that D did not use drugs and that she had received the jeans from a friend. D was found guilty. On appeal, D argued that requiring her to prove unwitting possession violates due process. The court held that the crime was a strict liability crime that required proof of no mens rea and there was no violation of due process in requiring D to prove unwitting possession. D appealed.