The federal judge overseeing a long running racial profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office heard arguments Friday on whether to end oversight of the agency.
Maricopa County made the request. Its lawyer argued in court that oversight was successful and there are no more constitutional violations by the Sheriff Office.
The Justice Department said the agency has substantially complied with court orders and oversight should end.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing for the ACLU, disagrees.
“If we were to terminate reforms today, it would not only be premature, but it would put the plaintiff class at risk of losing the relief that they won,” she said.
But the ACLU acknowledges there are parts of the court orders that may not need as much oversight.
“It's possible we could agree that some of those obligations for reporting to the monitor and all of that could be relieved, so they’re not terminated. They’re still there,” Borchetta said.
The judge did not immediately rule and said there are many different reasons why the question before him is difficult.
Sheriff Jerry Sheridan was not at the hearing, but it was attended by county Supervisor Debbie Lesko.
-
Images of Layne Lundeen having been duct taped into his seat went viral last month. -
Mexico’s security secretary says the new federal prisons will include high-security infrastructure as the country looks to show a crackdown on cartel violence. -
His comments come after the Arizona Sheriff’s Association accused his office of refusing requests for assistance from Border Patrol. -
An inspection at a Mexican military checkpoint in San Luis Río Colorado resulted in the arrest of two people and the seizure of more than a ton of white powder. -
The Arizona Sheriff’s Association issued an open letter calling out the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office over its response to the public safety concerns surrounding the border wall construction in that area.
