RITZVILLE — The Adams County Sheriff's Office said it will appeal a decision announced Friday in a lawsuit brought against the ACSO by the Washington Attorney General's Office, which started in March 2025. 

The ruling by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Marla Polin orders ACSO to change policies and practices that the judge ruled violate the Keep Washington Working Act.  

According to Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for the AG's office, a lawsuit may be brought in the superior court in the county of origin or in the two nearest judicial districts.  

Sheriff Dale Wagner responded in a media release, saying the county would appeal.  

"I respect the judicial process, but respecting the process does not mean we must agree with every ruling. We intend to pursue the appropriate legal avenues to challenge this decision and defend what we believe is our responsibility to protect our residents," Wagner wrote.  

Faulk said the ruling requires Adams County to comply with state law, specifically the Keep Washington Working Act. 

"We had two years of negotiations with the county that ultimately did not resolve and we had to file this lawsuit," Faulk wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. "The court's decision is what's binding on the county." 

The Keep Washington Working Act includes restrictions on information that local and state law enforcement officials can share with federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit alleged ACSO was sharing current booking information with federal authorities. Polin said the information was "nonpublicly available," and ordered ACSO to cease that practice. 

During the relevant period, the general public couldn't see or access the list, she wrote.  

"Nonpublicly available personal information is not defined in KWW, but must be interpreted in a manner that furthers the legislature's goal of eliminating coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities for civil immigration purposes," Polin wrote. 

"The fact that (ACSO) made some information about those in its custody available to the public through an online jail roster, and later a mobile application, does not change the court's conclusion that the new in-custody list was 'nonpublicly available.' Those other mechanisms for publishing a jail roster, by design or defect, did not provide contemporaneous information about those in (ACSO's) custody, or did not provide as much information," she said. 

The practice the ACSO used violated the Legislature's intent, she said. 

The Keep Washington Working Act was passed in 2019, and Polin said ACSO sent release information to federal immigration authorities in connection with inquiries from federal agencies for cases that weren't criminal in nature.  

The ASCO provided that information after the passage of KWW, between 2021 and 2023. Sheriff's deputies also allowed federal immigration agents to talk to people who were in custody, she wrote.  

"(Keep Washington Working) imposes an obligation on law enforcement agencies to ensure that federal immigration authorities only conduct in-custody interviews in connection with criminal matters, absent consent or a legal obligation," Polin wrote. 

She found that ACSO also failed to adopt written policies that aligned with Keep Washington Working requirements. The AG's office issued guidance to law enforcement agencies on the kind of policies they should adopt. 

"Defendant decided to adopt the AGO's KWW guidance but instead continued to use and rely on policies that predated KWW's enactment," Polin wrote.  

Wagner said he issued verbal orders that ACSO was to stop sharing the in-custody lists with federal authorities, and Polin ruled that was insufficient. 

The county will be required to revise its policies and train staff in the revised policies, Polin ruled. 

    Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner
  

    Washington Attorney General Nick Brown