The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has shot down a fourth attempt by Maricopa County to avoid the fallout of the long-running racial profile case brought against former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
After finding Arpaio in civil contempt in 2016, a judge ordered reforms in the internal affairs department of the Sheriff’s Office. The judge also ordered a fund be set up to pay those hurt by Arpaio’s violations of an earlier order to stop enforcing immigration law.
Maricopa County appealed, but the Ninth Circuit has sided with the judge.
The Sheriff’s Office has worked to fix itself, but there is still more to do, said Kathy Brody, legal director of the ACLU of Arizona.
“What this means for us is that we can continue to push the agency to make the reform that were so badly needed, and remain needed today,” she said.
Fields Moseley, communications director for Maricopa County, released a prepared statement.
“The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors continues to appropriate money with the goal of achieving compliance with the Melendres case orders as quickly as possible,” the statement said. “There has been no decision on whether to file a petition related to this latest opinion.”
