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A New Sheriff in Town? Joe Arpaio Under Pressure

By Eric Lipman

Via the ImmigrationProf Blog, I found this Washington Post article on Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio. For those of you who've been living under a rock heavier than the one I just recently managed to dislodge, Arpaio is the head law enforcement officer for the county that includes Phoenix, and has for quite some time been the subject of much controversy. Arpaio has designated himself "America's Toughest Sheriff," though according to the Post, he pronounces that final word "SHUR-ff," which is kind of awesome. His initiatives run the gamut from the gimmicky but pretty harmless, like forcing inmates to wear pink underwear (now available to the public), to the arrogant and arguably improper, like deciding to crack down on illegal immigration when and how he feels like it, regardless of what the federal government has to say about it. The article details some of the hurdles Arpaio is facing in his quest to capture a sixth four-year term, not least among which is a federal grand jury investigation into alleged abuses of power. His approval ratings are at all-time lows, which doesn't seem to have fazed him, considering he continues openly defying orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on March 01, 2010 (boomark / email).