Saturday, August 20, 2016

Federal Judge Refers Sheriff Joe Arpaio to US Attorney for Possible Criminal Contempt Charges. Read the Order!

Joe_Arpaio_(cropped) Joe_Arpaio_by_Gage_Skidmore_4

Big news from Arizona! 

A federal judge yesterday referred Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and three of his aides to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to decide whether to prosecute them for criminal contempt of court.​ The 32-page order comes after U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow found that Arpaio intentionally violated orders in a racial profiling case, Melendres v. Arpaio.  

Here is the order.   CNN looks at the order and Arpaio's history in the courts.

The district court order p. 12 concluded with respect to Sheriff Arpaio that

"[i]n light of the seriousness of this Court’s orders and the extensive evidence demonstrating the Sheriff’s intentional and continuing non-compliance, the Court refers Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio to another Judge of this Court to determine whether he should be held in criminal contempt for:  (1) the violation of this Court’s preliminary injunction of December 23, 2011,3  (2) failing to disclose all documents that related to the Montgomery investigation in violation of this Court’s specific order entered orally on April 23, 2015, . . . , and the Monitor’s follow-up ITRs  for this material in violation of this Court’s orders requiring compliance with the Monitor’s requests, . . ., and (3) his intentional failure to comply with this Court’s order entered orally on April 23, 2015 that he personally direct the preservation and production of the Montgomery records to the Monitor, . . . . " (emphasis added).

The order also referred further proceedings on the contempt matter to another federal judge .  US. District Court Judge Susan Bolton was assigned the matter. She is perhaps best-known for her handling of several cases challenging Arizona's SB 1070, the state's immigration enforcement law that was invalidated in large part in Arizona v. United States.    Her rulings enjoining major parts of the law from going into effect were largely affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The latest order in this long saga raises many questions:

•    Will the U.S. Attorney’s Office accept the recommendation? If so, what will the charges) be?

•    If Arpaio is found guilty, will he resign?

•    Could Arpaio end up behind bars?

•    Will Snow's decision affect Arpaio's odds for a seventh term?

In an order separate from the contempt ruling, Judge Snow laid out the ways and means of compensating victims of racial profiling.

Ortega_maricopa

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2016/08/big-news-from-arizona-a-federal-judge-on-friday-referred-maricopa-county-sheriff-joe-arpaio-and-three-of-his-aides-to-th.html

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