Judge spares Arizona sheriff from contempt in racial profiling case

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is aiming to achieve compliance with court orders to wipe the slate clean from the days of Joe Arpaio.PHOENIX (CN) — U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow directly addressed the Maricopa County sheriff in court on Tuesday, encouraging better communication to address lingering issues in a racial profiling class action.“I’m sure you don’t want to be a sheriff that engages in biased policing,” the George W. Bush appointee told Sheriff Jerry Sheridan. “And I am sure you don’t think you are one.”Two months ago, Snow denied Maricopa County’s motion for relief from judgment. He agreed that the largest sheriff’s office in Arizona has come a long way since the days of Joe Arpaio, whose administration was found in a 2013 trial to have promoted a practice of racially profiling Latino drivers, but found it still has not achieved full compliance necessary to rid itself of a federal monitor.In a Phoenix courtroom, Snow suggested better communication may help Sheridan, former chief deputy to Arpaio, turn a new leaf.Two problems remain.First, the county’s own traffic report data shows Hispanic motorists are still about 40% more likely to be arrested, stopped 30% longer and more than twice as likely to be searched compared to their white counterparts. Second, Sheridan has not yet eliminated a backlog of internal investigations into reports of civil rights violations.Snow acknowledged that indicators of bias don’t necessarily mean policies or officers themselves are biased, but encouraged Sheridan to better explain to the plaintiff class and the public why else the bias shows up in the data. The judge also pushed Sheridan to take a more active role in those investigations.Accepting that Sheridan wants to eliminate the backlog, Snow said he won’t yet hold the sheriff in contempt for being out of compliance, but he said issues regarding command structure and third-party investigators should be relatively easy to resolve.Snow said he’s open to discussing what parts of his lofty orders may no longer require direct monitorship.Sheridan didn’t respond directly to Snow’s suggestions, but said it’s in the best interest of himself and the community that he comply with Snow’s orders.“I involve myself in pretty much every aspect of compliance with the order,” he said.Representing the sheriff, Joseph Popilizio of Jones, Skelton and Hochuli suggested the parties hold regular status conferences between already-established quarterly site visits to foster more open dialogue.Snow emphasized that the community advisory board, established in 2013 to help the sheriff achieve compliance, should be part of those meetings.The county has also held quarterly community meetings to hear from constituents directly, but Snow has seen them largely as a failure. He ordered the meetings be moved to the federal courthouse after an emotional July 2025 meeting got out of hand, then again ordered the meetings be virtual after attendees acted disrespectfully toward himself and members of the court-appointed monitoring team, which is made up of former police chiefs and county sheriffs.Popolizio welcomed the community advisory board’s participation in additional meetings.Snow also warned Popolizio that some of his communications with the monitor, headed by former Rochester Police Chief Robert Warshaw, have violated Snow’s orders and “often have an inappropriate tone.”If the county or the sheriff’s office disagree with how the monitor implements Snow’s orders, the parties must first confer with the plaintiff class, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, before going to the monitor. Rather than argue with the monitor, Snow said Popolizio should then go directly to him if the monitor doesn’t budge from there.Popolizio agreed, but added that he’s been frustrated with the monitor’s own lackluster communication.ACLU attorney Christine Wee agreed that more frequent communication would be helpful on all fronts.The county has appealed Snow’s denial of its motion for relief. Still pending is the county’s objection to the appointment of Shaneeda Jaffer as an independent investigator to review the sheriff’s own internal investigations. The county insists the sheriff’s office should maintain full authority over its own investigations.Snow said he won’t require oral argument but will issue a ruling soon.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