Ruling Could Leave Arpaio Facing Criminal Charges

By: Lorin McLain

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in a whole new pot of hot water after a ruling by a federal judge last week. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow found Arpaio and three of his top commanders in contempt of court for ignoring judicial orders to stop profiling Latinos. The judge said Arpaio and his staff repeatedly and intentionally violated the orders no fewer than 19 times. The decision could move the case from civil charges to criminal prosecution for the controversial sheriff.

Arpaio has admitted to violating the order, but said it was a mistake. On May 31st, Snow will determine penalties for civil violations, but will also consider weighing criminal charges if he finds Arpaio’s orders were intentional. Snow’s decision on Friday did not come with any sympathy for Arpaio’s maverick approach to fighting illegal immigration. In his decision, Snow wrote: “The Defendants’ unfair, partial, and inequitable application of discipline disproportionally [sic] damaged members of the plaintiff class.”

The order relates to a 2011 civil case, where Latino plaintiffs said they were victims of profiling by deputies instructed to give them greater scrutiny than white drivers during traffic stops. Snow ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and ordered Arpaio to stop the practice. A year later, Arapaio told supporters at a rally that he violated the order “out of spite” and had arrested hundreds of people through the practice.

While Snow found Arpaio and his aides in contempt for violating the order, Snow also wrote that they “made intentional misstatements of fact while under oath” during testimony in a hearing. Arpaio went covert and hired a private investigator to look into comments Snow’s wife made in private where she allegedly said the judge didn’t want to see Arapaio re-elected. Arpaio’s attorneys used the incident to argue Snow should recuse himself from the case because he was no longer impartial. Snow declined, and also found Arpaio and his aids in contempt of court for hiding thousands of pieces of evidence from plaintiffs in the civil case, and deleting digital evidence from hard drives.

The contempt ruling has fueled criticism from longtime Arpaio opponents. Immigrant rights group Puente Arizona called for him to resign in a statement issued Friday. The ACLU is demanding stricter oversight of the sheriff’s office. Still, the ruling doesn’t bar Arpaio from holding office and he’s still looking to get elected for a seventh term in November. Snow will discuss penalties on May 31st and has indicated he will decide shortly after whether he will refer the case to Arizona’s US Attorney for possible criminal charges. In the meantime, the racial profiling case alone has cost Maricopa County taxpayers 41-million dollars.