A boycott by visitors and tourists would be the least of Arizona’s worries.
In fact, Arizona may be more dangerous than you’ve heard and it’s not safe for Latinos or anyone else. Rather than say your fears are unfounded, why not drag everything out into the blazing sun so you can make an informed decision for yourself?
Arizona has serious problems far beyond a remedy at the state level. That’s why the US Department of Justice filed a federal case against Maricopa County, the County Sheriff’s Office, and Joe Arpaio in the US District Court for Arizona. The Sheriff’s Office is federally funded directly from the Department of Justice (DOJ), and it's also a subrecipient of federal funds allocated to Maricopa County.
May 10, 2012
CV12-0981-PHX-ROS
United States of America, Plaintiff,
v.
Maricopa County, Arizona; Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office; and Joseph M. Arpaio, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, Defendants.
INTRODUCTION
1. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio (Arpaio) have engaged and continue to engage in a pattern or practice of unlawful discriminatory police conduct directed at Latinos in Maricopa County and jail practices that unlawfully discriminate against Latino prisoners with limited English language skills. For example, Latinos in Maricopa County are frequently stopped, detained, and arrested on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and Latino prisoners with limited English language skills are denied important constitutional protections. In addition, Defendants MCSO and Arpaio pursue a pattern or practice of illegal retaliation against their perceived critics by subjecting them to baseless criminal actions, unfounded civil lawsuits, or meritless administrative actions.
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The federal government seeks to enforce the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution by obtaining an order from the court to reform the Sheriff’s Office under Title 41 USC 14141. It’s not the first case of its kind but two years have passed and
it’s becoming clearer that the federal government seems to lack the ability to protect the constitutional rights of the people in the state. A decision was reached a year ago by Judge Murray Snow in a different case
but Arpaio blatantly ignored it.
When the discrimination case was filed in 2012, it was assigned to Chief Judge Roslyn Silver. Judge Silver assumed the position of Chief Judge in January 2011 when her predecessor, Chief Judge John M. Roll, was shot and killed at an event in Tucson sponsored by House Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Judge Roll had received death threats in response to his ruling in a $32-million civil rights lawsuit filed by undocumented immigrants. The suit was filed against rancher Roger Barnett and Judge Roll’s decision in favor of the immigrants incited rightwing anger at the time. Barnett was covered in an article by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
After Judge Roll was killed, Judge Silver took over as Chief Judge until she resigned in September 2013. The discrimination case hadn’t progressed very far due to persistent challenges from Arpaio. He succeeded in getting the case against the Sheriff’s Office dismissed, leaving him and Maricopa County as the remaining defendants. Meanwhile, the Assistant Attorney General for Enforcement at the DOJ, Thomas Perez, who filed the case, left the department when he was selected by Obama to head Labor. The discrimination case was handed off to his successor.
Judge Silver exited a District Court where there were 6 judicial vacancies dating back three years to 2010. Of all the District Courts in the US, Arizona’s has the highest number of criminal cases. That’s the situation inherited by the new Chief Judge, Raner Collins, who is the first black man to hold the position. That may be the truest indicator of how hopelessly FUBAR the whole situation is. Let the black guy deal with this mess. Sound familiar? Appointees were recently confirmed and one day the discrimination case will be decided.
There are a couple more things to know about Joe Arpaio.
- His affiliations included the self-avowed neo-nazi , J. T. Reddy, who ended up shooting and killing 4 people in May 2012 before turning the gun on himself. And Joe sometimes spouts the lingo of the sover’n citizen.
- SB1070 wasn’t the beginning and it’s not the end. It codified what was already practiced by the Sheriff and any self-appointed
separatist vigilante at the border. They professed law enforcement while they criminalized brown skin and speaking Spanish in public. But the novelty of that wears off after a while. One day, they decided to enforce the law with a white woman, a random, middle-aged mom. The Sheriff’s deputies decided to take Deborah Braillard into custody during a routine traffic stop. She was a diabetic and the jail staff withheld her insulin until she died.
Two Maricopa County officials, a few county judges, and a couple of journalists who criticized Arpaio’s practices were targeted for retaliation. These aren't just any old white people and they weren't immune from Arpaio's abuse of power. See the list on the left at this link:
http://www.azcentral.com/...
The people of Arizona are resourceful. They recalled a rightwing extremist ringleader who was President of the state Senate. They elected a majority-Democratic delegation to the House. However, a large part of the population, even in Maricopa County don't know much about Arpaio except what they're told. Constantly. He's just enforcing the law.
What's happening is insidious. Visitors may come and go without even noticing anything unusual or strange. They might notice some vehicles parked on the shoulder of the freeway and a dozen brown-skinned men sitting on the gravel with their hands on the top of their heads while a uniformed man stands guard over them. Just enforcing the law.
You pay for this with your taxes. See p.3 of the legal document at the link:
http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/...