Judge to Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio: No deal

Kudos to the Arizona Civil Liberties Union for objecting to the half-ass settlement offer from Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio and his lawyers that would have let him avoid prosecution, and saddle the taxpayers of Maricopa County — the damn fools who keep reelecting him — with the cost of the settlement agreement, once again. Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio has already cost county taxpayers multi-millions of dollars in settlements for his unlawful conduct. When will Maricopans finally say “enough!”

And kudos to U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow for not rolling over like other judges have done in the past by accepting this half-ass settlement offer. Judge Snow told Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio and his lawyers, “No deal” — see you boys in court at the hearing set for April 21-24. Justice may finally be coming for “America’s most corrupt sheriff.”

Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times reports, Arpaio Needs “Skin in the Game,” Says Judge, Before Any Civil Contempt Settlement:

During a hearing in federal court in Phoenix on Friday, Judge G. Murray Snow said more than once that Sheriff Joe Arpaio would have to have “skin in the game” as part of any settlement agreement in contempt allegations against Arpaio and four current and former high-ranking MCSO deputies.

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Arpaio and Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan are looking to head off a four-day civil trial scheduled for late April, which could result in the referral of the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible criminal contempt proceedings.

Arpaio, Sheridan and other officials face allegations that they did not follow Snow’s December 2011 injunction regarding the enforcement of civil immigration law, and his orders regarding the confiscation of video evidence.

Additionally, there are allegations that they did not comply with court-ordered discovery.

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As in a previous hearing, Snow stated that he would not consider a remedy for the civil contempt by Arpaio that did not address possibility of criminal liability, which hinges on whether or not the contempt was done “willfully.”

Referring to a legal defense fund Arpaio and his allies have been pimping online and in e-mails, Snow wanted to know how he could be sure Arpaio was being personally punished as part of any settlement.

“I want it to come out of his pocket,” Snow told Arpaio’s criminal attorney Mel McDonald, “not the Joe Arpaio legal defense fund.”

McDonald, a former U.S. Attorney, complained that the amount being considered would equal “a year of [Arpaio’s] gross income.”

But Snow was having none of it, pointing out that he was aware that Arpaio “had significant sources of other income,” such as from books the sheriff had co-authored.

“$100,000 is [just] a number,” said Snow. “But more than a number, I want to send a message to the sheriff, that comes from having a little skin in the game.”

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Snow acknowledged that Arpaio would need to offer up more “skin” than his accused underlings, and at one point, the judge noted that “the interests of justice” required that the “individual defendants need to be punished.”

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Snow also said that “violations” of his order were likely “numerous,” and therefore included an untold number of victims. So there was no way to limit the amount of any compensatory fund to a mere $350,000, since it potentially could run into the millions of dollars.

Still, such suggestions would have to be agreed upon by the plaintiffs in the case, and the ACLU, which has already begun deposing people in anticipation of the April civil trial, seemed no closer to agreeing to a settlement.

McDonald was emphatic that Arpaio was not admitting that he “willfully” violated Snow’s orders.

Rather, Arpaio and Sheridan were only admitting to being in civil contempt, not criminal contempt.

The other defendants, Lieutenant Joe Sousa, Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre, and former Deputy Chief Brian Sands, did not sign on to the Arpaio/Sheridan admission of guilt.

Sands’ attorney Dennis Wilenchik told Snow that Sands was willing to go forward with the hearing in April.

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Sands retired in 2013, and has since written a self-published memoir of his 30-career with the MCSO entitled Arpaio De Facto Lawman, wherein he excoriates Arpaio for his insatiable desire for publicity above all else.

Which is one reason to hope the April hearing goes forward: the prospect of watching Sands blast Arpaio on the stand.

At the end of the hearing, Snow made it clear that the court’s calendar “remains the same” for the moment, with the dates of April 21-24 set aside for a civil trial.

“The civil contempt matter can be settled,” Snow observed, while retaining his right to refer the matter for criminal proceedings.

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“I won’t go through this [again],” said Snow, referring to the drawn-out legal prelude to punishment. “I’ll just order up a criminal contempt hearing.”

He concluded by telling the parties to let him know if there was any sort of settlement between the two sides, and that he would see them all back next week, when another hearing was scheduled.

Outside the courthouse, ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang poured water on the chance of a resolution prior to the April civil trial.

“I think the sheriff and the other [MCSO officials] have a long way to go before we get to the bottom of all of their wrongdoing, and get a remedy that protects the plaintiffs in this case,” she told reporters.

She said it was reasonable to expect that Arpaio and others engaged in contempt pay a personal price, since both Arpaio and Sheridan, for instance, have thumbed their noses at the court’s dictates in the past.

“We want to make sure that the sheriff does not do what he’s done before in this litigation,” she said. “By showing one face in front of the judge and then turning around and continuing to violate the law.”

The Arizona Republic editorializes today, Arpaio needs to pay for his mistakes — not taxpayers (Note to the editor: that would be “crimes,” not “mistakes”):

The most infuriating part of Arpaio’s behavior is this: Taxpayers, as usual, will have to pick up the tab for his reprehensible, scofflaw behavior.

It’s time that ended. It’s time that Arpaio feel some financial pain. And, at last, a federal judge agrees.

U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow was handed an amazing gift this week. In a stunning and wholly unexpected acknowledgment of reality, Arpaio and his attorneys admitted that the sheriff has intentionally defied the order of Snow.

They offered to let taxpayers compensate those harmed by Arpaio’s actions. But they also offered to have Arpaio make a significant donation to a charitable organization serving Latinos.

The move was designed to head off a four-day hearing scheduled for April that could have ended with criminal sanctions leveled against the sheriff. It failed; the hearing remains on the schedule. And Snow said he wants to make sure Arpaio’s cash comes from the sheriff’s bank account, not from a campaign or legal defense fund.

It’s a start.

Gamesmanship has gone on almost from the day in December 2011 that an injunction was issued commanding Arpaio to stop detaining people strictly on the suspicion that they were in the country illegally.

Earlier this year, Snow finally had enough of it.

The judge scheduled the contempt hearing. Suddenly, a light in Arpaio’s cranium went on, prompting the sheriff’s surprising admission that, yes, he had been ignoring Snow’s commands to stop hunting down Hispanic drivers. The light, of course, was the realization that Arpaio could face criminal sanctions.

The admission — which included some of the most abject, almost pitiable declarations of guilt by Arpaio’s lawyers — prompted calls for the sheriff to resign. Good luck with that.

Snow has discussed setting up a compensation fund for drivers who were detained by MCSO officers after the 2011 court order forbidding the practice. According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Dan Pochoda of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, “We know there was a significant amount of them, that they were picked up after the preliminary injunction.”

A bulldog’s defiance has always been one of Joe Arpaio’s defining characteristics. Forcing taxpayers to clean up his multi-million-dollar messes is another.

It is time that changed. Arpaio should be held accountable — personally accountable.

And not just through the tax-deductible $100,000 charitable contribution that Arpaio and Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan offered in their acknowledgement that they had violated Snow’s court order.

The sheriff needs to join taxpayers in making whole those who his arrogance has harmed. After years of mocking the law, Arpaio, this time, should pay. Seriously.

Yes, Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio should finally be held accountable at law. But that will require the hearing going forward on April 21-24, and Judge Snow referring his findings for further criminal proceedings. The “skin in the game” that Judge Snow should want is Crazy Uncle Joe Arpaio having to serve jail time, which would result in the forfeiture of his office.

It should not take a judge to remove “America’s most corrupt sheriff” from office. The taxpayers of Maricopa County should have had the common sense to have done so long ago.