Cecily Zamora
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, was found guilty of criminal contempt of court in 2017. He was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump, but the conviction and pardon were not the end of Arpaio's legal troubles. Arpaio has been accused of numerous types of police misconduct, including abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, and abuse of suspects in custody. He has also been criticised for his treatment of immigrants, cramming them into outdoor tent cities and parading prisoners around in pink underwear to humiliate them. Arpaio has faced multiple lawsuits and settlements, with Maricopa County taxpayers footing the bill for litigation costing over $140 million during his tenure as sheriff.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Criminal conviction | Criminal contempt of court |
| Reason for conviction | Disregarding a 2011 court order to stop detaining people without reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed |
| Pardon | Pardoned by President Donald Trump |
| Date of pardon | 25 August 2017 |
| Reason for pardon | "Sheriff Joe protected our borders... Sheriff Joe was very unfairly treated by the Obama administration, especially right before an election – an election that he would have won." |
| Age | 92 years old |
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What You'll Learn
- Joe Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2017
- Arpaio was accused of abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, and more
- Arpaio's office was found to have unfairly targeted Hispanics in conducting traffic stops
- Arpaio's jail conditions were ruled unconstitutional, with inmates' constitutional rights being violated
- Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump in 2017
Joe Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2017
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2017. This conviction was the result of Arpaio's decision to disregard a 2011 court order that required him to stop detaining people without reasonable suspicion of a committed crime. Despite the order, Arpaio continued to detain individuals residing in the country without legal permission, even if they were not suspected of committing any crimes.
Arpaio's contempt charge eroded much of his remaining political support, and he was defeated in the 2016 election by Democrat Paul Penzone, who reversed many of Arpaio's policies after taking office. In the lead-up to the 2016 election, Arpaio was facing legal backlash for ignoring a federal judge's order to stop his law enforcement agency from detaining undocumented immigrants who were not suspected or accused of any crimes.
The conviction carried a potential sentence of up to six months in prison. However, Arpaio was spared a criminal sentence when he received a pardon from then-President Donald Trump in August 2017. This pardon was met with fierce backlash and criticism from legal scholars, newspaper editorial boards, and historians, who labelled it an abuse of power, an impeachable offense, and unconstitutional.
Despite the pardon, Arpaio's political brand was tarnished, and he lost his title of "America's Toughest Sheriff." The conviction and its aftermath also had a significant impact on Arizona's political landscape, with the state's changing electorate contributing to the rise of a grassroots resistance movement that reshaped the state's politics.
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Arpaio was accused of abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, and more
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, has been accused of a multitude of legal and ethical violations, including abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, and criminal negligence.
Arpaio's abuse of power and misuse of funds are evident in his handling of public money and resources. He was found to have misspent almost $100 million over a five-year period, using restricted detention funds to pay for investigations of political rivals and activities of his human-smuggling unit. He also used these funds to pay employees to patrol the county instead of their assigned duties, and for inappropriate items such as trips to Alaska and Disneyland.
Arpaio's failure to investigate sex crimes and criminal negligence are particularly disturbing. During a three-year period ending in 2007, more than 400 sex crimes reported to his office were inadequately investigated or not investigated at all. Many of the victims were children of illegal immigrants. In one case, a 13-year-old girl with a mental disability was raped by her uncle, and despite a rape kit being taken, Arpaio's office told the girl and her family there were no signs of assault. The uncle continued to rape her, and she became pregnant and had an abortion. Arpaio's office failed to obtain a blood sample from the uncle for four years, and he was only arrested and charged in 2012.
Arpaio also engaged in abuse of power by targeting his political opponents with investigations and prosecutions. Between 2008 and 2010, he and the Maricopa County Attorney conducted government corruption investigations targeting political opponents, including judges, county supervisors, and administrators. These investigations resulted in lawsuits, criminal charges, and malicious prosecutions, with at least 11 individuals receiving settlements totaling millions of dollars.
Additionally, Arpaio was found to have engaged in racial profiling and civil rights violations, with a federal court monitor appointed to oversee his office's operations. The U.S. Department of Justice concluded that he oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. history, filing suit against him for unlawful discriminatory police conduct. Arpaio's actions resulted in massive debts for Maricopa County, with costs related to his racial profiling reaching $315 million.
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Arpaio's office was found to have unfairly targeted Hispanics in conducting traffic stops
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, was found to have unfairly targeted Hispanics in conducting traffic stops. This racial profiling was part of a larger pattern of discriminatory behaviour by Arpaio's office, which was the subject of a 2007 class-action lawsuit filed by Latino residents.
In 2013, a federal judge concluded that Arpaio's office had, indeed, unfairly targeted Hispanics in traffic stops. This ruling led to massive court-ordered overhauls of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's traffic operations and internal affairs department. The judge's ruling also resulted in significant costs for taxpayers, with legal and compliance costs expected to reach $314 million by mid-summer 2025.
Arpaio's anti-immigrant stance and his controversial policies, such as "Tent City", where inmates were forced to wear pink underwear and live without air conditioning, garnered him the nickname "America's Toughest Sheriff". He also ordered a volunteer posse to investigate the legitimacy of President Barack Obama's birth certificate, arrested a critical newspaper editor, and allowed actor Steven Seagal to drive a tank into someone's home.
Arpaio's early endorsement of Donald Trump solidified the latter's standing as the loudest voice in a party of nativists. However, Arpaio's popularity began to wane as Arizona's electorate changed, and he lost his bid for re-election as sheriff in 2016. He has since unsuccessfully run for Senate, attempted to regain his position as sheriff, and campaigned twice for mayor of Fountain Hills, Arizona.
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Arpaio's jail conditions were ruled unconstitutional, with inmates' constitutional rights being violated
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, was found to have overseen unconstitutional jail conditions that violated the rights of inmates. Federal Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008 and again in 2010 that the conditions in Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates, particularly in relation to medical care and other care-related issues. This ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought against Arpaio by the ACLU, which alleged that he routinely abused pretrial detainees by serving them contaminated food, housing them in dangerously hot conditions, denying them necessary medical and mental health care, and keeping them packed in holding cells for extended periods.
The ACLU lawsuit also alleged that Arpaio's jail practices resulted in prolonged traffic stops and baseless extended detentions, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In addition to the ACLU lawsuit, there were also several other legal cases and complaints that highlighted the unconstitutional conditions in Arpaio's jails. One notable case was Braillard v. Maricopa County, where a diabetic woman, Deborah Braillard, was arrested and detained on a minor drug possession charge. She was denied medical attention and eventually died in custody while chained to a hospital bed. The plaintiff's attorney in this case cited reports that detailed a "culture of cruelty" in Arpaio's jails, with inmates being routinely denied humane healthcare.
Arpaio's jail practices and conditions were widely criticized and led to significant legal consequences. In addition to the ACLU lawsuit and the Braillard case, Arpaio also faced a federal class-action lawsuit and a lawsuit by the US Department of Justice, both of which alleged racial profiling and discriminatory practices in his jails. The findings of the Justice Department's investigation concluded that Arpaio's office had committed a wide range of civil rights violations against Latinos, including racial profiling and discrimination.
As a result of these legal challenges and rulings, Arpaio was ordered to make significant changes to his jail practices and conditions. However, he continued to face scrutiny and criticism for his handling of inmates and his controversial policies.
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Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump in 2017
Joe Arpaio was pardoned by President Trump in 2017, but this decision was highly controversial. Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for disobeying a federal judge's order to stop racial profiling in detaining "individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally". The pardon covered Arpaio's conviction and any other relevant charges that might arise in connection with Melendres v. Arpaio.
Trump's pardon of Arpaio was criticised by many, including law professors, political scientists, and experts on authoritarianism. They described the pardon as troubling, unusual, illiberal, and undermining the rule of law. The pardon was also criticised by Arizona Senator John McCain, who said that Arpaio had not expressed remorse for his actions.
Despite the controversy, Trump defended his decision, describing Arpaio as an "American patriot" who had "kept Arizona safe". The official White House statement announcing the pardon described Arpaio as a "worthy candidate" who had served the nation for more than fifty years, "protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration".
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Frequently asked questions
Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2017 for violating a court order to stop his office's racial profiling practices. He was pardoned by President Donald Trump later that year.
In 2007, a class-action lawsuit was filed by Latino residents of Maricopa County who alleged they had been racially profiled during traffic stops. Arpaio and his subordinates ignored a 2013 court order to stop the unconstitutional behaviour.
Joe Arpaio has been accused of various types of police misconduct, including abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, abuse of suspects in custody, improper clearance of cases, unlawful enforcement of immigration laws, and election law violations. He has also been criticised for his jail detention practices, including forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and live in outdoor "tent cities" without air conditioning.
Joe Arpaio has faced numerous federal civil rights lawsuits and been the subject of investigations by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and a Federal Grand Jury. He has also lost multiple elections, including his bid to regain his position as sheriff of Maricopa County in 2020.
