Arpaio Pardon Doesn't Mean Conviction Just Goes Away

Arpaio Pardon Doesn't Mean Conviction Just Goes Away 

The judge ruled that he will have to hold a hearing before deciding to toss - or not toss - the former sheriff's conviction.   

By Colin Miner (Patch Staff) - Updated 30.08.2017 @ 3:02 am ET

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio may have been handed a very unusual pardon by President Trump but that doesn't mean his conviction for criminal contempt automatically goes away.

That was the ruling from federal Judge Susan Bolton on Tuesday.
Arpaio's lawyers, pardon in hand, had asked Bolton to vacate the former sheriff's conviction.
Arpaio had been convicted of ignoring a judge's ruling to stop immigration patrols that had been found to violate the civil rights of people picked up.
While Arpaio originally boasted of ignoring the judge's order, at trial, he maintained that the order had been vague and didn't intentionally disregard it.
Arpaio had been facing six months in prison when sentenced on Oct. 5.

Bolton canceled that sentencing and, instead, scheduled a hearing for the day before about whether Arpaio's conviction should be thrown out.

Source: https://patch.com/arizona/phoenix

______________________________________________________________________________

Also take a look at another report by Colin Miner yesterday

Joe Arpaio Pardon Roils Arizona Politics As Former Sheriff Shows No Remorse, Threatens McCain

     

"It's probably payback time," the once-convicted former sheriff said of John McCain, the state's senior senator who is battling brain cancer

Link > https://patch.com/arizona/phoenix/joe-arpaio

 

While presidential pardons usually come after the judicial process runs its course, an application is made and remorse is shown, none of those were the case with the Arpaio pardon.
(For more local news, subscribe to the Phoenix Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. For more information and updates on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch.)
The former sheriff - who was overwhelmingly voted out of office last year and who once compared his tent city prison to a "concentration camp" - has not only shown no remorse, he has said he plans to go after people, with McCain just being one of his targets. . .
Meanwhile, the state's junior senator - Jeff Flake, a frequent target of Trump's ire - put out a statement that while slightly more tempered than McCain's was nonetheless critical. . . Trump has told Republicans in Arizona that he would spend $10 million of his own money to help defeat Flake.
The question being raised by political observers is will Trump's pardon of Arpaio help - or actually hurt - Republican chances in the state next year?
The math says that a lot of the people who voted for Trump in Maricopa County also pointedly voted to cast Arpaio out of office, leaving open the question of who the pardon is supposed to appeal to in Arizona.
Krysten Sinema, a Democrat who represents the state's Ninth District and is expected to challenge Flake - or whomever the Republicans nominate - next year quickly seized on the pardon.