On July 31, 2017, Judge Susan Bolton of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order finding former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt. The case was brought pursuant to a 2011 order issued by District Judge Murray Snow preventing Arpaio and the county sheriff’s department “from detaining any person based only on knowledge or reasonable belief, without more, that the person is unlawfully present within the United States, because as a matter of law such knowledge does not amount to reasonable belief that the person either violated or conspired to violate the Arizona smuggling statute, or any other state or federal law.” On May 24, 2013, Judge Snow also issued a permanent injunction enjoining the county sheriff’s department from “[d]etaining, holding, or arresting Latino occupants of vehicles in Maricopa County based on reasonable belief, without more, that such persons were in the country without authorization.” Regarding Judge Snow’s orders, in neither instance was Arpaio found to be in compliance. Judge Snow issued a civil contempt citation to Arpaio in 2016 and referring him for trial on criminal contempt charges before Judge Bolton.
“know your jurisdiction” in the banana republic of America.