Migrant justice organization Puente Human Rights Movement is demanding a federal judge to charge Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt of court in a case that proved the sheriff’s office racially profiled and unlawfully apprehended Latinos in immigration enforcement operations.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow found Arpaio and three of his top deputies guilty of civil contempt, saying they have not obeyed the court’s order to stop profiling. “The Court finds that the Defendants have engaged in multiple acts of misconduct, dishonesty, and bad faith with respect to the Plaintiff class and the protection of its rights,” the judge wrote, according to an American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona press release. “They have demonstrated a persistent disregard for the orders of the Court, as well as intention to violate and manipulate the laws and policies regulating their conduct.”
The ACLU sued the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in 2007, and after three weeks of trial it was found that the sheriff’s office violated constitutional rights engaging in unlawful traffic stops and racially profiling Latinos, the ACLU says. On October 2, 2013, Snow issued an order mandating “necessary changes by Arpaio and his agency to prevent continued misconduct and safeguard the community from future violations of their constitutional rights,” according to the ACLU.
Arpaio and his top deputies continuously ignored the court’s orders, which triggered recent contempt of court hearings.
“Arpaio has terrorized the migrant and brown community for decades, this was only a first step in a long struggle for justice against his unchecked racist practices,” Puente Movement says on a Facebook events page for a protest happening the morning of May 31 outside the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix. “We must rally and demand Judge Snow to go a step further and recommend criminal contempt charges be brought against Sheriff Arpaio.”
“The Department of Justice has investigated and condemned Arpaio before, the U.S. Attorney and the DOJ have [for] long had enough evidence to … bring charges and take receivership over the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” Puente adds.
#ArrestArpaioNotThePeople
This article appears in May 12-18, 2016.
Better hurry before Donald builds the wall that Mexico is paying for. That’s a right.
Too funny….. a bunch of Mexican reconquista slimeballs want a sheriff arrested for enforcing the law. You can’t make this crap up!
Silly rabbit. No one gets arrested for contempt anymore. Can you spell IRS? Can you spell Holder?
Keep squawking, turd birds. That buffoon passing himself off as a lawman has cost the Arizona taxpayers $51 million and counting.
Oh, an Illegal Immigration Rights group. They accidentally left the first word off the headline.
Patience, Grasshopper.
The Judge has to do things in a certain order.
Arpaio still has to be formally charged and have a trial on there merits of the criminal charges. It will happen and he will be found guilty.
Here is how this will play out:
1) In two weeks, there will be another hearing to address the findings of facts issued by Judge Snow. and to determine the nature of the remedies to address the contemptuous actions.
2) The probable remedies include:
–a Monetary damages assessed directly against the Sheriff and his minions. Big fines
–b Monetary damages assessed against Maricopa County, including the plaintiffs legal fees (think another multiples of tens of millions)
–c Greater court ordered oversight of the MCSO, possibly even placing the MCSO into receivership
–d A recommendation that Arpaio and his minions be charged with federal criminal” contempt of court, Perjury, and possibly other offenses.
3) Criminal charges will be filed by the DOJ and heard by a different judge.
4) A full trial will be held on these charges.
6) If found guilty, Arpaio and his minions would then be subject to additional fines and prison time.
7) If Arpaio is found guilty, Maricopa County may decide to seek decompensation for fines paid out in step “2-b” above.
8) Arpaio will die. This is not a death threat, it’s just an acknowledgment that the man is 82 years old and that court proceedings take time. It’s an open question if they will be completed before his demise. If he does pass away before this is all settled, his estate will be left with the burden of paying for his misdeeds.
Illegal does not exist in Ms. Taracena’s world.
Some facts:
1. Murders in Maricopa County down from 294 in 2007 to 155 in 2014
2. Robberies down from 7,113 in 2007 to 4,343 in 2014
3. Burglaries down by 9,900
4. Motor Vehicle Theft down from 32,500 to 10,800, 67%
5. Population up by 3%.
Deaths in Maricopa County Jails, 2000 to 2015, below the national average jail rate
Suicides in Maricopa County Jails, 2000 to 2015, below the national average jail rate
Source: Bureau of Justice, Deaths in Custody Statistical Program, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting
Almost everything the media has reported as truth has actually been false.
Who will protect low income Hispanics when Joe is gone? When you or I get our car stolen, it is an inconvenience, an insurance claim. When their car is stolen, it can be the loss of everything – job, family, home.
John Huppenthal
Nice try. Your “compassion” for low income Hispanics rings as false as your pseudonyms did.