Court slams ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ in profiling case, could hold Sheriff Joe in contempt

Court slams ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ in profiling case, could hold Sheriff Joe in contempt

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has repeatedly clashed with the federal government on the issue of going after illegal immigrants.

The courts dealt a defeat to self-described “America’s Toughest Sheriff” Joe Arpaio of metro Phoenix in Arizona, who failed to overturn a 2013 racial profiling ruling that stunted his efforts to fight against the influx of immigrants into Maricopa County.

It was the latest in a string of defeats for Arpaio, who has become a polarizing figure beloved by anti-immigration conservatives and despised by those who consider what he does racial profiling, according to an Associated Press report.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made the ruling, and Arpaio and four aides will face hearings next week on whether they will be held in contempt of court for violating a 2011 order by a judge who told Arpaio to stop his infamous immigration patrols.

The sheriff acknowledged that he did commit a violation and has offered to donate to a civil rights group to make amends. However, he denies that his officers are deliberately profiling Latinos.

Arpaio has not been afraid to butt heads with the courts and even the Obama Administration, even going so far as to conduct a very public investigation about whether or not Barack Obama’s birth certificate was real, which he eventually concluded wasn’t.

The 9th Circuit upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, which found that the sheriff unconstitutionally targeted minorities, who were subjected to lengthy traffic stops in the Phoenix area. It also agreed with Snow in saying that Arpaio’s officers need to video-record traffic stops and collect data to ensure they were acting within the bounds of the Constitution.

Arpaio did get one victory: a court-appointed official who was investigating misconduct was reined in by the court.

The sheriff’s lawyers said that Snow was imposing things on his office that didn’t have anything to do with profiling.

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