Verdict in for Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was found guilty of contempt Monday for disobeying a judge’s order to stop detaining illegal immigrants, raising the possibility of a jail sentence for the lawman once known as “America’s toughest sheriff.”
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued her verdict a few weeks three weeks after the trial ended July 6, with sentencing scheduled for Oct. 5.
The former sheriff has long been a hero of the border-security movement, drawing headlines for having inmates live in a tent city and wear pink underwear as well as his fight against illegal immigration
He said the judge “violated the United States Constitution by issuing her verdict without even reading it to the defendant in public court. Her verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”
Mr. Arpaio, 85, who served as sheriff for 24 years before losing his seventh bid for office in November, faces a maximum six months in jail at his Oct. 5 sentencing, but court watchers say the judge is unlikely to put him behind bars, given his age. (Read more from “Verdict in for Sheriff Joe Arpaio” HERE)
Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.
