----------
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/25/us-usa-arizona-sheriff-idUSBRE94N0Y320130525
*Judge Rules Against 'America's Toughest Sheriff' in Racial Profiling
Lawsuit*
by Tim Gaynor and David Schwartz,
Phoenix
Fri., May 24, 201
(Reuters) - Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio violated the constitutional
rights of Latino drivers in his crackdown on illegal immigration, a
federal judge found on Friday, and ordered him to stop using race as a
factor in law enforcement decisions.
The ruling against the Maricopa County sheriff came in response to a
class-action lawsuit brought by Hispanic drivers that tested whether
police can target illegal immigrants without racially profiling U.S.
citizens and legal residents of Hispanic origin.
U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow ruled that the sheriff's
policies violated the drivers' constitutional rights and ordered
Arpaio's office to cease using race or ancestry as a grounds to stop,
detain or hold occupants of vehicles - some of them in crime sweeps
dubbed "saturation patrols."
"The great weight of the evidence is that all types of saturation
patrols at issue in this case incorporated race as a consideration
into their operations," Snow said in a written ruling.
He added that race had factored into which vehicles the deputies
decided to stop, and into who they decided to investigate for
immigration violations.
The lawsuit contended that Arpaio, who styles himself "America's
toughest sheriff," and his officers violated the constitutional rights
of both U.S. citizens and legal immigrants alike in their zeal to
crack down on people they believe to be in the country illegally.
The ruling came days after a U.S. Senate panel approved a landmark
comprehensive immigration legislation that would usher in the biggest
changes in immigration policy in a generation if passed by Congress.
The bill would put 11 million immigrants without legal status on a 13-
year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along
the porous southwestern border with Mexico.
Arpaio declined to comment on the ruling. An attorney representing the
sheriff's office said his clients were "deeply disappointed by the
ruling" and would lodge an appeal.
"The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has always held the position
that they never have used race and never will use race in making a law
enforcement decision," attorney Tim Casey told Reuters.
"We do disagree with the findings and my clients do intend to appeal,
but at the same time ... we will work with the court and with the
opposing counsel to comply fully with the letter and the spirit of
this order," he added.
'ILLEGAL AND PLAIN UN-AMERICAN'
Cecillia Wang, director of the American Civil Liberties Union
Immigrants' Rights Project and plaintiffs' counsel, called the judge's
ruling "an important victory that will resound far beyond Maricopa
County."
"Singling people out for traffic stops and detentions simply because
they're Latino is illegal and just plain un-American," Wang said after
the ruling was made public.
"Let this be a warning to anyone who hides behind a badge to wage
their own private campaign against Latinos or immigrants that there is
no exception in the Constitution for violating people's rights in
immigration enforcement."
During testimony in the non-jury trial last year, Arpaio said he was
against racial profiling and denied his office arrested people because
of the color of their skin.
The sheriff, who won re-election to a sixth term in November, has been
a lightning rod for controversy over his aggressive enforcement of
immigration laws in the state, which borders Mexico, as well as an
investigation into the validity of President Barack Obama's U.S. birth
certificate.
The lawsuit was brought against Arpaio and his office on behalf of
five Hispanic drivers who said they had been stopped by deputies
because of their ethnicity.
The plaintiffs, which include the Somos America immigrants' rights
coalition and all Latino drivers stopped by the sheriff's office since
2007, were seeking corrective action but not monetary damages.
Arpaio has been the subject of other probes and lawsuits. In August,
the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona said it had closed a criminal
investigation into accusations of financial misconduct by Arpaio, and
it declined to bring charges.
A separate U.S. Justice Department investigation and lawsuit relating
to accusations of civil rights abuses by Arpaio's office is ongoing.
Arizona has been at the heart of a bitter national debate over
immigration since Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed a 2010
crackdown on illegal immigration.
The federal government challenged the crackdown in court and said the
U.S. Constitution gives it sole authority over immigration policy. The
U.S. Supreme Court, however, has allowed to stand the part of the law
permitting police to question people they stop about their immigration
status.
Snow scheduled a hearing in the case for June 14 at 9:30 a.m. at the
Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Federal Courthouse in Phoenix.
(Reporting by Tim Gaynor and David Schwartz; Editing by Cynthia
Johnston, Eric Walsh, Toni Reinhold)
----------
.
-----
-----
Please Note:
In select newsgroups my post will be followed by an out-of-date, cut-
and-paste, SHRIEKING ranting and raving post by Bob Milby Jr., aka
Patriot Games, aka Buster Norris, aka 10,000s of Sockpuppets -- Winner
of The alt.usenet.kooks Awards: Palmjob Paddle (July 2008)*, KO0k of
the Month (Sept. 2012)**, and the Order of the Holey Sockpuppet (Oct.
2012)!***
* This award is given to the person who gets spanked (as in,
thrashed) the most in a given month by other posters or even himself.
** Given to someone whose Kookery is judged to have surpassed all
others.
*** For those most prolific in the art of, abiet thinly,
disguising their net.presence behind whatever nose and glasses they
can concoct.
We hope to return you to more rational posting after this brief,
psychotic interruption.
------
------