A federal court has ruled that Seattle must temporarily halt its enforcement of property crimes related to graffiti due to the ordinance's vague parameters.
of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a preliminary injunction, saying the city's ordinance that punishes graffiti"targets speech" and"poses a real and substantial threat of censorship."
"On its face, the Ordinance sweeps so broadly that it criminalizes innocuous drawings that can hardly be said to constitute 'visual blight' and which would naturally wash away in the next rain storm," Pechman wrote.The Seattle Police Department released a statement to address the court's ruling, stating that a lack of future enforcement is not a conscious decision by the government.
"Late yesterday afternoon, SPD received an order from a US District Court judge that enjoined, in full, enforcement of SMC 12A.080.020 – the City’s misdemeanor property destruction law," the SPD wrote. The department continued,"This means that until further order of the Court, SPD cannot take action on damage to property under this law. This is not a matter within SPD or City discretion; we are bound by the court order as it is written."
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