If Arpaio is convicted of a felony, he would need to step down. | AP Photo Sheriff Joe Arpaio suffers another defeat in profiling case

“America’s toughest sheriff” just suffered another defeat at the hands of a federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow on Friday ordered another judge to rule on whether Joe Arpaio, the Republican sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, and a deputy should be held in criminal contempt of court for repeatedly ignoring court orders to stop racially profiling Latinos.


The 84-year-old Arpaio, who has been sheriff of the metropolitan Phoenix area for 23 years and is running for reelection, was an early supporter of Donald Trump and spoke at the Republican National Convention last month. Arpaio, a hero on the right for his aggressive stance on illegal immigration, warned in his prime-time address that the federal government had allowed "terrorists coming over our border, infiltrating our communities, and causing massive destruction and mayhem.”

Snow’s referral means Arpaio could face criminal fines or even jail time. If he is convicted of a felony, he would need to step down.

In May, Snow — who was tapped for the federal bench in 2007 by President George W. Bush — found Arpaio in contempt of court, ruling that he and his aides had repeatedly ignored court orders to stop racially profiling Latinos.

“The Court finds that the Defendants have engaged in multiple acts of misconduct, dishonesty, and bad faith,” Snow wrote on May 13. “They have demonstrated a persistent disregard for the orders of the Court, as well as an intention to violate and manipulate the laws and policies regulating their conduct.”

The case stems from Snow’s ruling on a 2011 lawsuit, when he found that Arpaio’s office was unfairly singling out Latino drivers for special scrutiny and ordered that the practice be stopped. Two years later, Snow found that Arpaio had intentionally flouted his order, citing the sheriff’s own public comments, such as a 2012 interview with Fox News in which he declared, “I’m not stopping anything” and said he was “not going to bend to the federal government.”

Arpaio could be vulnerable as he seeks a seventh term — his margin of victory has been steadily declining in each election. In 2012, he won reelection with just 50.7 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Paul Penzone by 6 percentage points. But Arpaio outraised Penzone by millions in that race, and he has already amassed a $10 million war chest in 2016. Penzone is running again, however, and a recent poll puts him 3 points ahead.

Arpaio’s opponent in the Aug. 30 Republican primary is Dan Saban, a former local police chief who ran against him in 2004 and 2008. During their 2004 race, Arpaio opened an investigation into Saban for allegedly raping his own adoptive mother decades earlier. The case was dropped, and Saban sued Arpaio unsuccessfully for defamation.

In June, Penzone likewise threatened to sue Arpaio if he recycled ads from their 2012 contest, when the sheriff accused him of beating his ex-wife.

The sheriff’s office referred questions to Arpaio’s campaign, which said Snow’s referral was no surprise.

“This was fully expected,” said campaign manager Chad Wilhems. “The judge has made it clear that this was the direction he was going to go in.”

“We are somewhat relieved that this process is out of the judge’s hands and will go to an independent review for an unbiased look at the case and the law,” he said, adding that the campaign was “confident that these allegations will be seen as unfounded.”

“We’re confident that the sheriff will be reelected,” Wilhems said. “What it all boils down to is illegal immigration. If the conversation is: ‘Who do you agree with more on illegal immigration — do you agree with the Obama Justice Department and Eric Holder, who started this whole process, or Sheriff Joe?’, I think we will win that argument handily.”

