Arizona lawman calls for judge's removal in racial-profiling case
By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Lawyers for controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio asked on Friday that a federal judge be removed from overseeing a racial-profiling case against the lawman and his deputies. In a court filing, attorneys for Arpaio and one of his top aides, Gerard Sheridan, asked U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow to recuse himself after what they called a string of decisions that could be seen as biased. The latest twist came before a second round of hearings in June to determine if Arpaio and four others should be held in civil contempt for violating court orders in the 2007 case. They face possible punishments of fines, restitution for individuals harmed and increased oversight of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Snow also has mentioned possible criminal contempt proceedings. The defendants' motion, filed shortly before a weekly status hearing in the case, caused Snow to put the litigation on hold on Friday. He said he had not read the last-minute filing. In 2013, the judge ruled that Arpaio, who bills himself as "America's toughest sheriff," and his deputies were guilty of acting unconstitutionally by racially profiling Latino drivers during traffic stops, and said the individuals were wrongfully detained. Snow installed a court monitor to oversee the operations of Arpaio's office and ordered changes to prevent a repeat of the offenses. Arpaio has denied his office was guilty of racial profiling. The defendants' lawyers cited a range of complaints about Snow's actions, including the judge's call for contempt hearings and his "surprise" questioning of Arpaio last month. The lawyers also cited Snow's decision to expand the role of the monitor following the contempt hearings. In a separate filing, the sheriff's attorneys also said the judge had ordered an inquiry into an investigation by one of Arpaio's lawyers into comments allegedly made by Snow's wife. Arpaio admitted under questioning by the judge last month that a private investigator was hired to check out a tip Snow's wife was overheard saying in a restaurant that the judge wanted the lawman out of office. Cecillia Wang, a plaintiffs' attorney and director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, called the move by the defendants' lawyers "extremely suspect" and calculated to delay the continuation of the case. An attorney for Arpaio denied the allegations. (Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric Beech)
