A federal judge on Oct. 25 ordered (PDF) Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio to be tried on a charge of criminal contempt. Judge Susan Bolton of the US District Court for the District of Arizona made the order after determining that Arpaio disobeyed a court order in a racial profiling case. This comes after Judge G Murray Snow requested that the US Attorney's Office file criminal contempt charges against Arpaio. The criminal contempt charges are a result of a 2007 lawsuit claiming that Arpaio discriminated against Latinos in his enforcement of his immigration patrols. Bolton found that Snow had prohibited Arpaio from enforcing his immigration patrols, in which persons were detained without state charges, but that Arpaio continued to detain such persons and deliver them to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement when there were no charges to bring. Bolton ordered Arpaio's trial for Dec. 6 in Phoenix. The charges against Arpaio could result in fines or prison time if he is convicted.
From Jurist, Oct. 26. Used with permission.
Arpaio convicted in racial profiling case
Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been found guilty of criminal contempt, stemming from a 2011 racial profiling case. US District Judge Susan R. Bolton found Arpaio, 85, guilty of criminal contempt of court, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Arpaio's lawyers said he would appeal. (NPR, NYT, July 31)