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Plaintiffs Appeal Human Smuggling Ruling

Both the plaintiffs and defendants are now appealing a judge’s ruling on a case involving smuggling immigrants into the U.S.

In late September, U.S. District Judge Robert Broomfield ruled Maricopa County cannot prosecute people who pay someone to get them across the border under Arizona’s human smuggling law.

Last week, the county attorney’s office announced it was appealing the ruling. and now, the pro-immigrant groups and individuals who brought the suit have said they are also appealing.

In a court filing, the plaintiffs said they are appealing, because the ruling did not apply retroactively. They want people who have already been found guilty of arranging to have themselves smuggled into the U.S. to get their convictions overturned.

Nick Blumberg was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2010 to 2014.