WaPo Editorial: Joe Arpaio, America’s scofflaw sheriff
By Editorial Board August 25
IN A democracy that prizes rule of law, calls to lock up public figures are jarring and usually out of place. But what to do if it’s a public figure such as Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the crusading racial profiler of Maricopa County, Ariz., who has spent the past several years systematically flouting a federal judge’s orders while hiding behind a smokescreen of obfuscation, manipulation and impunity?
In May, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow found Mr. Arpaio in contempt of court for willfully defying orders that his deputies halt their blatantly unconstitutional practice of detaining, arresting and harassing Latinos in traffic stops and workplace raids based on suspicions they are undocumented. The policy amounts to a race- and appearance-based enforcement regime that targets citizens, valid visa-holders and unauthorized immigrants alike. Heaven help anyone with olive skin who makes the mistake of driving in or around Maricopa County — including Phoenix, the county seat — population more than 4 million.
Confounded by the sheriff’s long-standing contempt for his lawful orders, Judge Snow last week threw up his hands. He referred Mr. Arpaio, who boasts he is “America’s toughest sheriff,” along with his top deputy, to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution.
The judge, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, may have been within his rights to take action earlier. Mr. Arpaio has been subject to the court’s orders since 2013, when he lost a class action suit alleging that the sheriff’s office methodically targeted Hispanics in enforcement sweeps, on the assumption that they were undocumented — even if they had committed no crime warranting a stop. The sheriff and his second in command, Jerry Sheridan, “have a history of obfuscation and subversion of this court’s orders that is as old as this case,” the judge wrote in his order.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/americas-scofflaw-sheriff/2016/08/25/9199b2ae-697c-11e6-ba32-5a4bf5aad4fa_story.html?utm_term=.cede7c8e34bc&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1