Arizona sheriff’s office remains under orders to end racial profiling

A federal judge said the Maricopa County sheriff’s office failed to demonstrate a good faith effort to eliminate racial bias against Latinos in policing.PHOENIX (CN) — An Arizona federal judge denied on Thursday Maricopa County’s attempt to shirk its responsibility to follow decade-old orders to eliminate racial profiling and other systemic issues in its sheriff’s office.More than a decade a judge found then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in 2013 to have promoted a pattern and practice of racial profiling against Latino drivers, the sheriff’s office is still working under the oversight of a federal monitor to eliminate indicia of racial bias in traffic stop data and eliminate a backlog of internal investigations.Acknowledging that conditions have improved three sheriffs later, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow said he’s seen no evidence that the department is ready to be released of the court orders and attached federal oversight.“Defendants have failed to demonstrate that the objectives of the court’s orders have been achieved," Snow, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote. “Nor have they established a durable remedy sufficient to ensure that, absent the court’s orders, they will not resume the violations that led to the issuance of those orders.”While the sheriff’s office has phased out 100% of Arpaio’s policies as required to rid itself of Snow’s orders and the federal monitor, reports show that it has only achieved between 68% and 84% compliance across Snow’s four permanent injunctions throughout the decade, falling short of its 94% or higher requirement.Once achieved, the sheriff’s office must remain in compliance with Snow’s orders for three years consecutively “to establish a record of sustained good faith efforts.”Snow says the sheriff’s office hasn’t done that. As recently as 2025, monitor reports show that command staff has attempted to interfere with disciplinary actions resulting from the county’s Professional Standards Bureau investigations, mirroring Arpaio’s constant efforts to obstruct investigations.The county argues that racial bias no longer infects its policing, despite statistical disparities in its own traffic stop reports between white and Hispanic drivers.“Hispanic motorists are approximately 40% more likely to be arrested than white motorists, stopped approximately 30% longer than white motorists, and approximately 2.5 times more likely to be searched than white motorists,” Snow quoted from the county’s own data.County attorneys say indicia of bias do not directly represent discriminatory policing. Snow agreed, but added that the burden of proof to explain the stops and arrests falls on the shoulders of the county. Both the county and the intervening Department of Justice have declined to proffer declarations as to why Hispanic drivers are stopped and arrested more often if not for racial bias.The county also argued that because the internal investigation backlog wasn’t part of the original lawsuit, filed in 2007, it shouldn’t be required to fulfill that part of Snow’s orders. But Snow explained that the order to reduce the backlog was and is a direct remedy to the issues raised in the complaint.Snow’s criticisms aside, some progress has been made.Recent quarterly traffic-stop reports are cleaner than before, and the backlog has dropped from 2,000 cases to fewer than 300 as of July 31.But after more than a decade, community members are frustrated by the pace of change. County officials say perfection is unrealistic, the department has done what it can and it deserves credit for its progress.In February, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs chaired a subcommittee in support of the county’s bid to end the monitorship. In that hearing, Maricopa County Supervisor Debbie Lesko repeated false claims about cost while admitting she did not know to what extent the department had complied with Snow’s orders.The county claims that it has spent more than $226 million to comply with those goals since 2014, but an independent audit suggests the county overestimated by more than 70%.Representatives for the plaintiffs — a class of Latino motorists — and Maricopa County did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads