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Our government masters tell us we are REQUIRED to obey the law, even if it's so complex we can't possibly understand it.
But when our government masters break the law they give us the line of BS it's OK to break the law because they didn't know it or understand it, or didn't think it applied to them: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan have both acknowledged the failures but deny the violations were willful.I have absolutely no faith in government so I doubt if Sheriff Joe and his gang of criminals will get more then a slap on the wrist. Let's hope I am wrong.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio in contempt of federal court, judge rules Megan Cassidy, The Republic | azcentral.com 2:20 p.m. MST May 13, 2016 Arpaio in contempt of federal court A federal judge has found Sheriff Joe Arpaio in civil contempt of federal court. Wochit It's official: A federal judge has found Sheriff Joe Arpaio in civil contempt of federal court. A federal judge ruled that the Maricopa County lawman and three of his top aides violated a federal court order meant to curtail racial profiling in his agency, according to a ruling issued Friday. The civil contempt-of-court ruling from U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, which held Arpaio in contempt on three counts, brings to an end a lengthy proceeding that started a year ago when Snow convened a series of hearings in downtown Phoenix to determine whether Arpaio and his commanders defied Snow's court orders. Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan was found in contempt on two counts, and retired Chief Brian Sands and Lt. Joe Sousa each were found in contempt of one. "In short, the Court finds that the Defendants have engaged in multiple acts of misconduct, dishonesty, and bad faith with respect to the Plaintiff class and the protection of its rights," Snow wrote in a 162-page finding of fact in the case. The judge set a May 31 date for a hearing for attorneys to discuss penalties. Shortly thereafter, Snow said, he will issue an order on remedies and whether he will refer the case for criminal contempt. The contempt proceedings were based on three alleged violations: that the Sheriff's Office failed to turn over video evidence that was required before the racial-profiling trial; that officials continued to enforce immigration law after Snow barred the practice; and that Sheridan failed to quietly collect evidence after the trial, as Snow had ordered him to do. The man judging Sheriff Joe Marshals sent to seize Arpaio evidence Arpaio and Sheridan have both acknowledged the failures but deny the violations were willful. The distinction could mean the difference between civil and criminal contempt, and served as the primary topic for debate in Snow's courtroom. The hearings, which started with four days of testimony in April and resumed with 16 additional days of testimony in the fall, often turned into a much broader discussion that focused on the sheriff’s enforcement priorities and whether he was more interested in settling political scores than rooting out the racial profiling that Snow found in the Sheriff’s Office. Arpaio’s acknowledgment in April that his attorneys had hired a private detective to investigate Snow’s wife was among the most bizarre moments in the lengthy proceeding and set the tone for exchanges between Snow and Arpaio, his aides and attorneys that were occasionally pointed and personal. Eventually, the case grew to include complaints from two Hispanic siblings from Chicago who felt they were profiled by sheriff's deputies, and an assistant to former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon whose Hispanic husband claims he was detained and cited while White motorists nearby were treated differently. Snow issued a preliminary injunction in December 2011 that prohibited sheriff’s deputies from engaging in law-enforcement practices that unfairly targeted Latinos and he followed it up in 2013 with an order that included a court-appointed monitor to oversee reforms in the agency. The costs associated with the racial-profiling case now exceed $60 million, including at least $8.2 million in tax money tied to the outside attorneys required to represent all the parties in the ongoing legal proceedings. Snow’s finding of contempt and the possibility of further criminal-contempt proceedings means those costs only will continue to rise. The ruling also opens up Arpaio and his top aides to an array of sanctions. |