Lawyers for infamous Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio are asking a federal judge to not pursue contempt charges against the self-styled “America’s Toughest Sheriff” for violating court orders in a 2007 racial profiling case.

U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow had asked attorneys to file court papers by Thursday on possible charges against Arpaio, and Arpaio’s defense responded that there was no evidence that he had violated any of the court’s orders, adding that mistakes had been made in communicating and implementing court orders, but that was all, according to a Reuters report.

Snow had ruled back in May of 2013 that deputies in Maricopa County had racially profiled Latino drivers, singling them out for traffic stops and keeping them too long. Arpaio appealed the ruling, denying that any racial profiling was going on.

Snow pointed to recent instances of deputies not being informed of the court’s orders, and papers not being turned over to lawyers for the Latino drivers. Plaintiffs are urging the judge to hold Arpaio in contempt for repeatedly ignoring the court’s edicts.

Joe Arpaio has been elected six times as sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, which includes part of the Phoenix area. He has served since 1992, and in 2005 became nationally known for being an outspoken proponent of strong enforcement of immigration law, garnering support among locals concerned by a growing tide of illegal immigrants they perceived to be moving into the region.

Arpaio is a controversial figure who has not shied away from the spotlight, billing himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff” and once going on a campaign to “investigate” President Barack Obama’s birth certificate, eventually claiming that it was forged.

He has been accused of abusing his office, misusing funds, failing to prosecute sex crimes, unlawfully enforcing immigration laws, violating election law, and numerous other infractions. A federal court found him guilty of racial profiling, resulting in a monitor that was appointed to oversee the office’s operations. On two occasions, the jails in the county were ruled to be unconstitutional, and the U.S. Department of justice has sued him for unlawful discriminatory police conduct.