Arpaio admits contempt of court, offers public acknowledgement

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has admitted he violated several federal court orders resulting from a long-running racial-profiling suit, a confession that comes a month before he was scheduled to respond to allegations of contempt.

In a Wednesday filing, attorneys for Arpaio and Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan consented to a finding of civil contempt and said it was unnecessary to go forward with a contempt hearing scheduled for April 21-24.

Attorneys representing the Sheriff's Office suggested that possible remedies might include Arpaio admitting violations of the court's orders in a "public forum" and requesting a compensation fund footed by Maricopa County taxpayers.

"Defendants acknowledge and appreciate that they have violated the Court's orders and that there are consequences for these violations," the statement reads.

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Plaintiffs' attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union declined to comment Wednesday morning.

Arpaio's attorneys have previously attempted to settle the dispute out of court, but the motion is the first clear admission of guilt.

Arpaio and Sheridan admitted to three areas alleged in contempt proceedings:

Evidence that the agency failed, for 18 months, to abide by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow's December 2011 preliminary injunction to stop enforcing federal immigration law.

Wednesday's statement explicitly states that both Arpaio and Sheridan were aware of this injunction but failed to pass the information along to deputies.

Evidence that sheriff's officials did not disclose all required information in pretrial proceedings, including deputies' audio-recording devices.

Arpaio's attorneys used several points to affirm this allegation, noting that some deputies had been issued recording devices as a matter of policy.

They also admitted that the human-smuggling unit actually maintained a catalog of DVDs containing the recording of deputy traffic stops.

Evidence that Arpaio's aides failed to properly follow Snow's May 2014 order to quietly collect audio- and video-recording devices from deputies.

Step by step, the defense attorneys detail how this failure transpired. Sheridan, they say, issued a directive for an e-mail to be sent out to commanders, directing them to gather recordings from their employees.

Sheridan later met with the court-appointed monitor to map out a retrieval strategy and failed to mention that he had already issued the overt order.

Arpaio's attorneys proposed that he issue a public, videotaped statement admitting guilt, a gesture his critics have sought, unsuccessfully, for years.

Arpaio would also ask the county to set up an initial $350,000 to serve as a compensation fund for confirmed victims, and would "seek to adjust this figure" should it not cover all of the claims.

The defendants also volunteered to personally donate $100,000 to a civil-rights organization with a mission of "protecting the constitutional and civil rights of the Hispanic community."

It is unclear when Snow, who presides over the racial-profiling case and contempt proceedings, will decide whether to vacate the hearing.

Snow said at a previous hearing that he would not consider a settlement unless all parties were in agreement.

This would include the U.S. Attorney's Office, which may be tapped to press criminal contempt charges against Arpaio should Snow find civil-contempt remedies insufficient.

Representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office have since stated that they do not intend to participate in settlement discussions.

A status hearing, ordered by Snow prior to Arpaio's motion, is scheduled for Friday.