The wheels of justice turn slowly, and it often comes too late, but justice finally came for “America’s most corrupt sheriff” crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio on Monday. Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty of criminal contempt of court:
Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s own words were the linchpin in the case against him, his quotes cited more than 20 times in a federal judge’s ruling that found him guilty of criminal contempt of court.
In a verdict filed Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton said evidence demonstrated Arpaio’s “flagrant disregard” for another federal judge’s order that halted his signature immigration round-ups.
The sentencing phase will begin Oct. 5. Arpaio, 85, faces up to six months in confinement, a sentence equivalent to that of a misdemeanor.
In what has become customary in judgments against Arpaio, Bolton liberally inserted the lawman’s public remarks, mostly issued through news releases and media clips, to support her opinion.
“Credible testimony shows that the Defendant knew of the order and what the order meant in regards to the MCSO’s policy of detaining persons who did not have state charges for turnover to ICE for civil immigration violations,” the ruling read.
“Despite this knowledge, (the) Defendant broadcast to the world and to his subordinates that he would and they should continue ‘what he had always been doing.’”
The verdict is a rejection of Arpaio’s defense: That the order was unclear and that, although mistakes had been made, the violations were unintended. Willful intent is required to prove criminal contempt rather than civil contempt.
But of course … Arpaio’s attorneys issued a statement Monday saying he will appeal the ruling and will continue to press for a jury trial. Why bother? This is a federal court. Why not just ask Arpaio’s good buddy Donald Trump to use his newly discovered pardon power to just pardon him?
Monday’s decision caps the latest chapter in a decadelong racial-profiling case that began after allegations that Arpaio’s deputies were targeting Latinos during their immigration-enforcement operations.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Arpaio’s office was known as the “tip of the spear” that would enforce the state’s hard-line immigration efforts. Its crackdowns included “pretextual” traffic stops to net those in the country illegally and patrol sweeps that zeroed in on Hispanic neighborhoods.
Many of those taken into custody were not accused of violating a state crime but only of living in the country illegally. Once they were detained, deputies would turn over the individuals to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol officials, who would initiate deportation proceedings.
The intent was to essentially act as another arm of the federal government, which has exclusive power to enforce civil-immigration violations.
Snow presided over the civil case, ruling in 2013 Arpaio’s office had racially profiled.
At the time, the ruling seemed to signal the end of a costly county battle with civil-rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
But the case continued to expand as the Sheriff’s Office struggled to implement mandated reforms, and as allegations of the office violating Snow’s orders began to cement.
In 2015, Snow ordered a civil trial of sorts to determine whether Arpaio’s office had violated three separate orders. Two centered on allegations that the department had failed to turn over evidence in case, and the third on whether Arpaio had violated a 2011 preliminary injunction that barred deputies from detaining migrants not suspected of a crime.
Last year, Snow found Arpaio and three aides guilty of civil contempt. He then referred Arpaio, two aides and a former attorney for criminal contempt charges, though federal prosecutors opted to only pursue Arpaio, and to charge him only on the preliminary injunction violation.
The proceedings lasted four days in June, and closing arguments were heard July 6.
During the trial, prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity section showed how Arpaio’s deputies illegally detained 171 individuals after Snow’s December 2011 injunction.
They showcased news releases, media clips and old depositions to try to demonstrate Arpaio was more interested in burnishing his political reputation than following a judge’s orders.
In the clips and news releases, Arpaio is quoted — after the injunction — as saying that he will continue to enforce state and federal immigration law.
In one particularly potent clip, Arpaios is seen talking to an inmate at his jails, who states that Arpaio is outranked by federal law.
“No,” Arpaio said. “Nobody is higher than me. I am the elected sheriff by the people. I don’t serve any governor or the president.”
This is the extreme right-wing nonsense promoted by former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack and his so-called Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, as well as the Oath Keepers and Posse Comitatus. What makes this extremist movement dangerous is that they are comprised of mostly law enforcement officers who see themselves as the law unto themselves.
Federal trial attorney John Keller said Arpaio’s words show that he was willfully defiant of Snow’s order.
“He didn’t care about the federal court injunction,” Keller said. “That wasn’t going to stop him from running his office the way he saw fit.”
The prosecutors’ strategy seemed to track well with Bolton, who also used Arpaio’s quotes liberally throughout her ruling. She cited various televised interviews with Arpaio, one in which he bragged he would “never give in to control by the federal government.”
* * *
Though many on social media mused about a sentence in what were once his own jails, that scenario seems improbable.
Should Arpaio be sentenced to incarceration, U.S. marshals in Arizona would be responsible for arresting him and placing him in custody.
“Traditionally, short-term sentence prisoners who are not going to be part of the Bureau of Prison systems are handled individually by the U.S. Marshals Office,” said U.S. Marshal David Gonzales.
Gonzales said the marshals contract with several local and private facilities, and that typically a short-term federal prisoner isn’t housed in Maricopa County jails.
Although Arpaio officially faces as many as six months of incarceration, many legal experts say even that is unlikely.
“I’d say the likelihood of Sheriff Arpaio spending six months in jail are slim to none,” said Paul Charlton, former U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona. The tougher question, Charlton said, is whether Arpaio will get any jail time.
Sadly, I have to agree with Paul Charlton.
Two weeks ago, a letter in the Republic asked where are Arpaio’s friends now that he was in trouble.
Arpaio didn’t need friends, he needed truth. Instead he got lynched.
The Phoenix New Times ran a front page story saying that his suicide rate was 24%, hugely above comparable jails.
Only problem was is that Arpaio’s suicide rate was 2.4%, significantly below the national jail suicide rate – and the story writer knew it. A complete effing liar.
So, Arpaio ran a model jail – complete with his innovation – tent city which had something that very few jails in America have – a zero suicide rate.
We have a corrupt federal judge making an absolutely absurd ruling, beyond absurd – bizarre. That checking on someone’s criminal status during a traffic stop is racial discrimination. I can’t remember a time being stopped by police where they didn’t say “I’ll be back in a minute” while I waited 15 minutes for them to check if I had any unpaid tickets. One time I was stopped because I was going 5 mph below the speed limit. Evidently, that is evidence of dui. There I waited a half hour while they checked if I had any unpaid tickets or prior stops for dui before letting me go my merry way.
This is standard procedure you effing idiot. That’s what that judge should have known.
The underlying premise is that illegal immigrants are more law abiding than American citizens so there is no good reason to be checking for their criminal arrests to see if they represent a risk to society.
Pure bullshit. For Sure Not Tom publicized an article published in the Washington Post with over 200 research citations all purporting to show that illegal immigrants have lower crime rates.
FSNTom should read his research before he brags about it. All those studies show, and you have to read past the politically correct abstracts, that illegal immigrants have much much higher murder rates, car theft rates, robbery rates, assault rates and rape rates and as a result, much higher incarceration rates than United States averages.
This is important, because to understand it is to understand that Arpaio was not only acting Constitutionally and legally but that he had a moral obligation to act exactly as he acted. And, in doing so, he direct protected the constitutional rights of the poor. In doing what he did, he saved the lives of hundreds of minority children who did not die in DWI accidents, the economic well being of tens of thousands of minority families whose cars were not stolen and lives of hundreds of minorities who were not murdered.
From 2006 to 2015, murders in Maricopa county fell 50%, car thefts fell 67% (16,000 fewer cars stolen – a totally stunning number – making a total farce of Tom’s “research” summaries).
So, how does the “research” FSNTom quotes pull their slight of hand between the facts in the research and the politically correct narrative in the abstracts?
1. They blend illegal immigrants with legal immigrants. Legal immigrants have incredibly low crime rates.
2. They blend illegal immigrants from Mexico with illegal immigrants from other countries. Chinese illegal immigrants have incredibly low crime rates. Illegal immigrants from Mexico are much more likely to come to the US with the specific purpose in mind to commit crime. Illegal immigrants from Mexico have double the crime rates of the average American citizen.
3. They compare the crime rates of illegal immigrants from Mexico with the crime rates of their matched pair, Hispanics and illegal immigrants already in the United States who ****** are their same age*****. Critical point. Because 56% of illegal male immigrants from Mexico are in the age bracket of 15 to 34, they have a much higher propensity to commit crime than the average citizen where only 26% of our males are in that age bracket.
4. Point- Arpaio’s enforcement towards a highly risk group was even necessary for their own good – to sort out the good from the bad. Tough and strict law enforcement against illegal immigrants will allow illegal immigrants to work in the United States without being victimized by those who come here to murder, rob, rape and pillage.
And the data bears this out. The overwhelming majority of the violent crimes not committed when comparing census code outcomes from 2006 and 2015 were crimes not committed against Hispanics living in lower income census codes.
What will happen now? What will be the suicide rate of Maricopa County jails? What will be the jail homicide rate? What will be the death rate? What will happen to our 2015, 40 year low violent crime rate?
Who will protect the poor and the vulnerable now that Arpaio has been lynched by a corrupt media, a corrupt judiciary and a corrupt university research community?
Since John Huppenthal says:” One time I was stopped because I was going 5 mph below the speed limit. Evidently, that is evidence of dui. There I waited a half hour while they checked if I had any unpaid tickets or prior stops for dui before letting me go my merry way.”……….Maybe you should be riding a Bicycle instead!
Two weeks ago, a letter in the Republic asked where are Arpaio’s friends now that he was in trouble.
Arpaio didn’t need friends, he needed truth. Instead he got lynched.
The Phoenix New Times ran a front page story saying that his suicide rate was 24%, hugely above comparable jails.
Only problem was is that Arpaio’s suicide rate was 2.4%, significantly below the national jail suicide rate – and the story writer knew it. A complete effing liar.
So, Arpaio ran a model jail – complete with his innovation – tent city which had something that very few jails in America have – a zero suicide rate.
We have a corrupt federal judge making an absolutely absurd ruling, beyond absurd – bizarre. That checking on someone’s criminal status during a traffic stop is racial discrimination. I can’t remember a time being stopped by police where they didn’t say “I’ll be back in a minute” while I waited 15 minutes for them to check if I had any unpaid tickets. One time I was stopped because I was going 5 mph below the speed limit. Evidently, that is evidence of dui. There I waited a half hour while they checked if I had any unpaid tickets or prior stops for dui before letting me go my merry way.
This is standard procedure you effing idiot. That’s what that judge should have known.
The underlying premise is that illegal immigrants are more law abiding than American citizens so there is no good reason to be checking for their criminal arrests to see if they represent a risk to society.
Pure bullshit. For Sure Not Tom publicized an article published in the Washington Post with over 200 research citations all purporting to show that illegal immigrants have lower crime rates.
FSNTom should read his research before he brags about it. All those studies show, and you have to read past the politically correct abstracts, that illegal immigrants have much much higher murder rates, car theft rates, robbery rates, assault rates and rape rates and as a result, much higher incarceration rates than United States averages.
This is important, because to understand it is to understand that Arpaio was not only acting Constitutionally and legally but that he had a moral obligation to act exactly as he acted. And, in doing so, he direct protected the constitutional rights of the poor. In doing what he did, he saved the lives of hundreds of minority children who did not die in DWI accidents, the economic well being of tens of thousands of minority families whose cars were not stolen and lives of hundreds of minorities who were not murdered.
From 2006 to 2015, murders in Maricopa county fell 50%, car thefts fell 67% (16,000 fewer cars stolen – a totally stunning number – making a total farce of Tom’s “research” summaries).
So, how does the “research” FSNTom quotes pull their slight of hand between the facts in the research and the politically correct narrative in the abstracts?
1. They blend illegal immigrants with legal immigrants. Legal immigrants have incredibly low crime rates.
2. They blend illegal immigrants from Mexico with illegal immigrants from other countries. Chinese illegal immigrants have incredibly low crime rates. Illegal immigrants from Mexico are much more likely to come to the US with the specific purpose in mind to commit crime. Illegal immigrants from Mexico have double the crime rates of the average American citizen.
3. They compare the crime rates of illegal immigrants from Mexico with the crime rates of their matched pair, Hispanics and illegal immigrants already in the United States who ****** are their same age*****. Critical point. Because 56% of illegal male immigrants from Mexico are in the age bracket of 15 to 34, they have a much higher propensity to commit crime than the average citizen where only 26% of our males are in that age bracket.
4. Point- Arpaio’s enforcement towards a highly risk group was even necessary for their own good – to sort out the good from the bad. Tough and strict law enforcement against illegal immigrants will allow illegal immigrants to work in the United States without being victimized by those who come here to murder, rob, rape and pillage.
And the data bears this out. The overwhelming majority of the violent crimes not committed when comparing census code outcomes from 2006 and 2015 were crimes not committed against Hispanics living in lower income census codes.
What will happen now? What will be the suicide rate of Maricopa County jails? What will be the jail homicide rate? What will be the death rate? What will happen to our 2015, 40 year low violent crime rate?
Who will protect the poor and the vulnerable now that Arpaio has been lynched by a corrupt media, a corrupt judiciary and a corrupt university research community?
Very impressive, John!
Demasiado tiempo no leyeron.
la ignorancia es felicidad
Racista culo dice qué?
“Demasiado tiempo no leyeron.”
I guess it is easier to remain uninformed than to actually read some facts, eh Tom? That way you didn’t spend time reading it AND you can remain blissfully ignorant and comfortable with your misinformation. Very clever…
And while we’re all here, hats off to Paul Penzone, for enforcing the laws while staying within the law, watching the budget, and most of all, for not being a racist showboat.
Based on his personal history, Penzone will be an adequate Sheriff. Not good, not bad, just…adequate. Hopefully, being adequate is sufficient to keep the crime rate as low as it is now.
any time is better then no time ;but I will wait and see if he does any time.
Ah, yes! The gloating starts asif this trial represented anything approaching justice. With all the hoopla, accusations, garment rending, rioting, and general mayhem raised by Sheriff Joe’s enemies, all that was produced was a tiny burp! It is a good example of throwing enough charges against someone and something will likely stick.
Violation of a Court Order issued by a Judge, judged by the Judge that issued the Order, and then judged by another Judge. What else could be expected but a guilty verdict? No one in the Judge’s circle could possibly have let it go to a jury because there was a good chance he would have been found not guilty, or a hung jury, at worst. No, it was Judges sitting in judgement of other Judges about the judgement of a Judges Order. Arpaio HAD to be found guilty in order to protect the power of the Judiciary. No one could possibly be surprised by the verdict.
So, those of you who hated Arpaio now have your moment to gloat. You finally wounded him. You will get your mug shot and his booking papers, but for all the money spent and all the ruckus raised, you didn’t get much. It must be a bitter satisfaction to have to settle for crumbs while the cake gets away…
Arpaio was always about Arpaio. Just like the egomaniac in chief, White House occupant, grandstanding was Arpaio’s raison d’etre, and it finally hung him on his own words. Arpaio and Trump are neither about any actual philosophy. They are like Meduro, and Putin, and Assad, anything to stay in the limelight, and power.
Well said! Arpaio made the statements that turned him from ex-sheriff to convict. Tough on crime should apply to its creators in a state with lifetime draconian sentencing. Arpaio got off light compared to the thousands whose lives he destroyed.
“Arpaio got off light compared to the thousands whose lives he destroyed.”
Sheriff Joe did nothing to anyone that had not brought the problem on themselves. He had a job to do and he did it well. Criminals are not known for liking law enforcement and jailers, and Arpaio was both.
Well said! Arpaio made the statements that turned him from ex-sheriff to convict. Tough on crime should apply to its creators in a state with lifetime draconian sentencing. Arpaio got off light compared to the thousands whose lives he destroyed.
Adios Arpaio! No vuelvas cerdo gordo!
Regardless of his flamboyant nature, Frances, Sheriff Joe was effective and got the job done. His statistics demonstrate he knew what he doing and he did the job well. The fact you didn’t like him is immaterial. And Arpaio did have a philosophy…it was “law enforcement and incarceration”. Both of which he did very well. Throughout his tenure, he was always open to new and better ideas on how to improve his operations. He often said he wasn’t in a popularity contest and he pissed off a lot of very noisy people, especially illegal aliens who have come to think of themselves as a sacred and untouchable criminal class in our society.
In any event, this so called “victory” is a hollow one. Given all the charges leveled against Arpaio, this little chicken poop charge is the best they could do and it doesn’t mean much. Given all the fuss that was raised and the things that were charged, his enemies should be embarassed at the paucity of results from their efforts.