Arpaio wants his campaign talk banned at contempt-of-court trial
PHOENIX — For nine years, Joe Arpaio enjoyed solid popularity as the sheriff of metro Phoenix by locking up immigrants in the U.S. illegally and regularly telling news reporters that no one would stop his crackdowns.
The former lawman who made his fight against illegal immigration a fixture of his speeches and media interviews during his last three campaigns asked a judge on Friday to prohibit prosecutors from mentioning those statements at his April 25 trial on a criminal contempt-of-court charge.
Arpaio, who was defeated last November after 24 years as sheriff for sprawling Maricopa County that encompasses Phoenix, faces the misdemeanor charge for disobeying a court order to halt his immigration patrols, which continued for 17 months after a judge issued the order.
To win a conviction, prosecutors must prove that Arpaio intended to violate the judge’s order. The 84-year-old Arpaio, who would face up to six months in jail if convicted, has acknowledged prolonging the patrols, but insists he did so unintentionally.
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