Update: I swear that when I started writing this DougJ’s post was not in the queue. Anyway…we’re all grownups here (Schpeake Fer Yerself!–ed) so I’m guessing we can read one piece and then another. Or not. Enjoy!
__________________
Joe Arpaio is now on his way to being an old lag, and if that conclusion is decades late, it still behoves us to get our schadenfreude on:
The longest-serving lawman of the state’s most populous county, where he became a national figure known for immigration raids and sweeps aimed at rounding up illegal migrants, was found guilty Monday of contempt of court. He faces up to six months in jail.
Arpaio’s crime, you’ll probably recall, was to keep on doing what he’d been doing after a federal judge told him to stop:
Arpaio had conducted the sweeps under the federal 287 G Program, which enables some local law-enforcement offices to act as quasi-immigration agents. In 2009, the federal government rescinded this power, but Arpaio refused to stop. In 2012, Arizona U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow, ordered an injunction against Arpaio’s office aimed at ending the sweeps, but still, Arpaio refused.
I fortunately don’t have any personal experience here, but I have it on good authority that judges really, really don’t like it when you ignore them.
Arpaio tried two lines of defense:
During the criminal trial, which consisted of a five-day trial in June and July, Arpaio’s attorney’s argued that Snow’s order was unclear and that though the sheriff had made mistakes, they weren’t willful violations of the order. He also argued that Arpaio delegated much of of the enforcement responsibilities to his subordinates, and that he should not be held responsible for their actions.
Again, I don’t think telling a judge that they f**ked up in their legal writing is a terribly persuasive strategy, and as for the “my employees suck, I don’t” argument, I’m reminded once again that the Party of Personal Responsibility™ is a f**king crock. Hence, the man’s a convict.
It is, alas, apparently unlikely that white supremacist poster child Arpaio will actually go to jail for his crime.
But whatever his sentence, this outcome makes me smile.
Here’s Loki, the Trickster God, in the glass I’ll raise when the clock hits 0-whiskey-00 this evening.
Image: Egon Schiele, The Door is Open, 1912.
smintheus
Speaking of racist, authoritarian @zzh0les, Lou Barletta is going to challenge Bob Casey in PA Senate race. At least we won’t have that pig Barletta in the House any more.
MTmofo
behooves
piratedan
well, if they can’t jail him, maybe they can strip his assets, since that is now apparently okey dokey to do.
Roger Moore
This reminds me of the old legal saying:
When the law isn’t on your side, pound the facts.
When the facts aren’t on your side, pound the law.
When neither the law nor the facts are on your side, pound the table.
Arpaio’s lawyers were solidly in “pound the table” territory.
Miss Bianca
@Roger Moore: and then when you’re done with all that, at least in Arpaio’s cae, the judge tells you to go pound sand.
bemused
May the most corrupt, disgusting, insane president ever have the same fate but with a much longer sentence. His colluding, abetting kids too.
debbie
Jeez, the highs and lows of today (Mooshy, Arpaio, Sam) have worn me out. I hope I can stay awake until sundown.
Patricia Kayden
Great news. Wish he would go to jail and spend some time with the people he harasses and hates so much. Now that would be justice.
Prometheus Shrugged
I was just looking at that very Schiele drawing a couple of weeks ago in Vienna, where it was on display. As you (Tom) probably know, Schiele drew it from inside prison as a sarcastic commentary on his own false imprisonment. But it certainly fits in this case with double the irony, given Arpaio’s antics.
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
I’ve lost track. Who’s Sam?
p.a.
@MTmofo:
plural of behoof?
Suzanne
As an Arizonan, this day has just filled me with unbelievable happy. SEE YA LATAH, ALLIGATAH!
Egon Schiele is also one of my favorite artists of all time, so yay.
Bill Arnold
@bemused:
As Tom notes (I think?), Loki or something like him is on a serious roll…
Ralphie 247
Why go through the waste of time and expense of a 5 day trial if he won’t be doing any time? Six months would at least give the old prick a little taste of his own medicine.
Chyron HR
@SiubhanDuinne:
The bravest Hobbit of them all.
Hungry Joe
Jail time unlikely? Damn. I was looking forward to seeing him smack his head into the roof of a cop car because, you know, cops don’t have to cushion them with their hands anymore.
Roger Moore
@Hungry Joe:
I was kind of hoping to see him sent to one of his own jails.
Waspuppet
The Reverse Nuremberg Defense: I was only giving orders.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Sam Shepard (playwright, actor, muscian, etc.).
SiubhanDuinne
@debbie:
Thanks, of course. I was still thinking in the “political” box.
SiubhanDuinne
@Chyron HR:
Heh.
Nelle
Can all you with news contacts spread the word that Arpaio is on conservative tour (one of the leaders? Honored guests?) in October to Europe. If he can do that, then he can damn well go to prison.
Nelle
I’ve got a link but don’t know how to post links here (I’m slightly Neanderthal)…it’s under conservativetours.com and is this tour: THE D DAY BEACHES / THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE / THE NAZI SURRENDER AT REIMS / CHAMPAGNE COUNTRY / THE BULLET TRAIN / VERSAILLES / PARIS ……. OPTIONAL ONE WEEK EXTENSION TO PROVENCE!
DEPART: OCTOBER 2ND, 2017
RETURN: OCTOBER 12TH, 2017
Sheriff Joe Arpaio
ACCOMPANYING THIS TOUR IS SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO
Brendan in NC
@Hungry Joe: And see him in a pink prison jumpsuit…
Steeplejack
@Nelle:
You can post a naked hyperlink in your comment.
MTmofo
@MTmofo: Heh!
no.
mai naem mobile
This is called Karma. Hope Dolt45 gets big heaping platefuls of it as well.
Tom Levenson
@Prometheus Shrugged: ooh. I’m jealous. I’d love to see these in the flesh, but I haven’t yet made it to Vienna,
And yeah, the point was that this was from his jail stint. Crazy story, that.