Arpaio’s attorneys responding with a vigorous twofold offensive
By Megan Cassidy | The Republic
Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s defense lawyer continued to hammer Arpaio’s former attorney on the witness stand Tuesday, suggesting he was to blame if the Sheriff’s Office violated a court order because he did not clearly convey the order to command staff.
It was the second day of Arpaio’s criminal-contempt trial, in which attorneys are debating whether he willfully defied a federal judge’s order that prohibited immigration-law enforcement.
Arpaio is accused of illegally detaining at least 171 individuals between December 2011 and May 2013. The allegations stem from a racial-profiling lawsuit that began in 2007.
Related: Judge denies Joe Arpaio’s bid to have Jeff Sessions testify at trial
The case is still in the hands of U.S. Justice Department prosecutors, and only their witnesses have yet been called to testify. But Arpaio’s attorneys are responding with a vigorous offensive that’s twofold, targeting both former attorney Tim Casey and the underlying order itself.
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton is presiding over the bench trial, which is scheduled to last eight days. Arpaio, 85, could be sentenced to a maximum of six months in jail if convicted, though legal experts say incarceration is unlikely.
