Statewide Prohibition Faces High Court Showdown
A Thurston County judge ruled the statewide prohibition law constitutional, setting the stage for a tense legal battle before the state's highest court.
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Olympia, July 31—Declaring the new state-wide prohibition law valid and constitutional, Judge D. F. Wright of the superior court of Thurston county, has handed down his decision in the test case brought by M. and K. Gottstein and others, of Seattle, against the governor, secretary of state and attorney general, to restrain these officials from putting the new law into effect. The decision in this case has been awaited with great interest throughout the state, and it sustains not only the prohibition law but also upholds the validity of the initiative and referendum amendment to the constitution which was also attacked. While it is highly probable that the case will be appealed to the supreme court, it is thought that it will be passed upon by that court at the October term, as the time set for the taking effect of the law is January 1, 1916. There is said to be a possibility that the case will be appealed to the United States Supreme court.
“The decision in this case has been awaited with great interest throughout the state.”
This legal struggle over the 1916 statewide prohibition law preceded national Prohibition by four years. It highlights how Washington’s early adoption of the initiative and referendum allowed local communities to bypass traditional legislative hurdles, a feature that still defines the state's civic character today.
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