PRESIDENTIAL PARDON..... Think!!
Posted on 09/01/2017 7:11:24 AM PDT by SandRat
PHOENIX — A federal judge will hear arguments in October over whether she should set aside the criminal contempt of court conviction of Joe Arpaio.
In a brief order late Tuesday, Judge Susan Bolton vacated the scheduled Oct. 5 sentencing of the former Maricopa County sheriff. That followed last week's pardon issued by President Trump.
But Bolton, who found the sheriff guilty of ignoring an order by fellow Judge Murray Snow, put off a separate bid filed by Arpaio's lawyers on Monday to overturn her finding of guilt, a move that would legally wipe out any legal record he had ever been convicted in the first place. Bolton said she wants to hear from federal prosecutors at a hearing on Oct. 4.
The president's pardon eliminated any possibility that Arpaio, facing a possible six months in jail, will actually do any time.
That, however, is not enough to satisfy the former sheriff who continues to insist he did not ignore orders by Snow, hearing a separate civil case, to stop trying to enforce federal immigration laws against people his deputies suspect were in this country illegally. Bolton, who heard the criminal contempt charge, disagreed, saying Arpaio's nearly two dozen public statements saying he would continue to do things his way, showed a "flagrant disregard'' for Snow's order.
In seeking to have the conviction voided, Arpaio's attorneys said the former sheriff never actually asked for the presidential pardon.
More to the point, they said the conviction remains on Arpaio's record, pardon or not. And while Arpaio cannot be punished for what Bolton found him guilty of in this case, they said that conviction could have repercussions down the road.
For example, they cited court rulings that said this conviction could be used against him at the time of sentencing if he is ever found guilty of any other crime. That could result in a stiffer sentence.
And they said that the conviction, even for a misdemeanor, could be used to argue to a judge or jury in a future case that the sheriff's testimony was not credible.
Arpaio's attorneys also suggested that if Bolton refuses to budge they may appeal his conviction anyway to clear his name, something they said would be "a waste of everyone's time and money.''
Tuesday's court development came as Gov. Doug Ducey defended his support for the pardon and bristled at the idea that his position could be seen as offensive to the state's Latino community, many of whom were victimized by the sheriff's immigration raids.
On the heels of the pardon, the governor said Arpaio "deserves credit for helping to reduce crime in Maricopa County over his long career.'' And Ducey said the pardon "brought finality to this chapter in Arizona's history'' and allowed the sheriff and his wife to "move on and enjoy their retirement together.''
That was in sharp contrast to a statement by U.S. Sen. John McCain who said the pardon undermines Trump's claim for respect of rule of law.
"Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for continuing to illegally profile Latinos living in Arizona based on their perceived immigration status in violation of a judge's order,'' McCain said. And the senator said Arpaio "has shown no remorse for his actions.''
Sen. Jeff Flake, for his part, said he would have preferred for Trump to "honor the judicial process and let it take its course.''
Ducey said supporting the pardon did not mean he does not support Latino rights.
"Everything we've done in our administration is standing up for all of the citizens of Arizona,'' the governor said, saying his administration "has been about opportunity for all'' in things like creating jobs or supporting the ability of parents to use tax dollars to send their children to whatever school they want, including private and parochial schools.''
It does seem to me, that the whole purpose of PARDON, was to remove the red tape, and declare him innocent.
I thought he was already pardoned. Is this “Pardon” basically a free Get Out of Jail card to be used if needed?
Time to jerk the chains on the Ninth Circus....
<><><>or should it be the other way around.
It does seem to me, that the whole purpose of PARDON, was to remove the red tape, and declare him innocent.
President Trump's pardon was issued while there was already a motion in place by Arpaio's legal team to overturn his conviction. The pardon seemingly made this whole legal process moot, but in fact Arpaio's legal team is working on a strategy to make the pardon moot (for the reasons they've outlined here).
What makes this so bizarre is that the judge has ordered the U.S. Justice Department -- who prosecuted the original case against Arpaio -- to file a response to Arpaio's motion to overturn his conviction. How the hell are they supposed to respond here? LOL.
If I were a DOJ lawyer working on this case, I'd be tempted to give up my legal career and get into something more honorable and useful ... like selling heroin.
“Ducey said supporting the pardon did not mean he does not support Latino rights. “
What are, EXACTLY, Latino rights?????
McCain and Flake are both wrong and mendacious in their assessment of Sheriff Joe...McCain's vendetta, almost juvenile one-sided feud with POTUS is a disgraceful picture for the nation and Arizona....Flake, as usual, follows the sr. senator.
I like Time to chain up the jerks on the Ninth Circus.... “8^}
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON..... Think!!
Uh, pardone moi. WTH? Is the pardon a done deal? If so, then Sessions needs to tell the judge to take a hike. And I don’t even play a lawyer on TV.
Sessions philosophically is against the swamp.......but it is so ingrained in him as to make him useless. He needs to retire.
Yeah, I know. If the doj continues as it has for the past 8 + years, it will remain a joke.
If they proceed, he should just give them the finger and not show up or send any representation whatsoever to whatever stupid liberal proceedings they want to engage in.
LOL, what are they going to do?
A pardon has nothing to do with quilt or innocence, it simply voids any penalty of any conviction!!
It’s sheriff Joe who is pursuing this in order to clear his name!!!
“It does seem to me, that the whole purpose of PARDON, was to remove the red tape, and declare him innocent.”
As I understand it, a presidential pardon doesn’t make you not guilty, it simply relieves you of incarceration and any further legal issues related to the subject of the pardon.
As a side note, It will be wonderful to see both McCain and Flake out of the Senate.
Yep the article makes it clear Arpaio was convicted for enforcing the law. Note these articles assume that arresting illegals is in every case an act against “Latinos” based on race. The truth is Obama’s policy was “let them in!”
Do these officials not understand the meaning of the term “MOOT” as it applies to the rulings of the court?
Meaningless churning of wheels. Sheriff Joe was pardoned, the power of the pardon is absolute and not subject to review.
When profiling involves more attributes than just race I would say the closer you a complete picture of an illegal, then racism becomes a remote possibility.
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