Maricopa County will ask appeals court to end sheriff's office oversight

Maricopa County will ask appeals court to end sheriff's office oversight

Maricopa County will ask a federal appeals court to end the over decade-long independent oversight of its sheriff's office connected to a landmark racial profiling case.

Why it matters: If successful, the appeal would end the reign of the court-appointed monitor tasked with ensuring the sheriff's office doesn't discriminate against Hispanic residents.

Catch up quick: The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) has been under court-ordered monitoring since 2013, when federal Judge G. Murray Snow found that it routinely racially profiled Latinos in traffic stops.

  • MCSO remains well short of "full and effective compliance" with mandated reforms, per the monitor — particularly when it comes to a backlog of internal affairs cases.

    • Driving the news: Despite that, Maricopa County asked the judge to end the court's oversight earlier this year. Snow declined to do so.

  • On Tuesday, the county filed a notice of appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • County leaders have decried a $300 million compliance price tag, though the monitor found that 72% of those costs were improperly attributed to compliance efforts.

    • What they're saying: Christine Wee, an attorney with the ACLU of Arizona who is representing the plaintiffs in the case, tells Axios that she is "very confident" the appeals court will rule against the county.

  • "There is a just, unfortunately, an abundance of facts to support Judge Snow's well-founded decision," Wee says. "So we are not concerned."

    • "MCSO is a different agency" and continued oversight "would serve only to further deplete public funds and divert taxpayer dollars from the Sheriff's primary responsibility: fighting crime and protecting public safety," Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee said in a statement.

    What we're watching: Snow also instructed the parties to discuss an agreement to end some oversight provisions, which Wee says is under negotiation.

    Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from the county Board of Supervisors.