The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is asking the United States Supreme Court to remove the county as a party in the racial-profiling case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The board is currently one of the defendants in the ongoing lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against Sheriff Arpaio and his office. That means the county has its own legal counsel on top of the sheriff’s representation. And the supervisors want out.
County Attorney Bill Montgomery said the state constitution clearly outlines the separation of executive authority on the county level between the sheriff and the supervisors.
“The action in making Maricopa County a party to this conflates the role of the board of supervisors and the sheriff’s office in carrying out law enforcement responsibilities under Arizona law,” Montgomery said.
He said the county does not need to be sued to guarantee it will pay out money as a result of the case. That is already laid out in statute.
Naming the county as a party has forced the county attorney’s office to provide multiple counsels, which Montgomery called “a waste of time, energy and money.”
