{"id":13758,"date":"2015-07-19T17:59:12","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T00:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13758"},"modified":"2015-07-20T15:02:16","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T22:02:16","slug":"sheriff-arpaio-agrees-to-stop-unlawful-targeting-and-detention-of-hispanics-during-worksite-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=13758","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff Arpaio Agrees to Stop Unlawful Targeting and Detention of Hispanics During Worksite Raids"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARIZONA<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"U.S.<\/a>Controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division reached a partial settlement in a civil rights lawsuit that also names Maricopa County as a defendant, officials announced last week.<\/p>\n

The federal government sued the sheriff and the county for allegedly detaining Hispanics after conducting worksite raids of local businesses in violation of the Fourth and 14th Amendments.<\/p>\n

\"Maricopa<\/a>
Maricopa County, Arizona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lawsuit also charged that Arpaio and the County Sheriff’s Office retaliated against critics of the sheriff in violation of the First Amendment, officials said.<\/p>\n

The sheriff and the county also agreed to ensure that Spanish speaking inmates have translators and information in Spanish, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resolution of these claims, with the important safeguards against future constitutional violations included in these agreements, is in the best interests of the people of Maricopa County,\u201d said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mark Kappelhoff of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThe Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office changed many of their practices after the commencement of our litigation, and these agreements ensure that progress continues and the Constitutional rights of the people of Maricopa County will be protected for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the agreements, the Maricopa Sheriff’s Department will comply with the following measures:<\/p>\n

Improve policies to identify Spanish-speaking inmates who can’t speak English.<\/p>\n

Ensuring limited English speaking inmates have adequate access to language assistance services, such as bilingual staff, telephonic interpretation services and Spanish-language translations of important written policies and postings in the jails<\/p>\n

Requiring that all vital announcements in MCSO facilities be made in both English and Spanish<\/p>\n

Ensure that medical staff are informed if an inmate needing medical attention is LEP and requires language assistance.<\/p>\n

If there is not compliance with the agreement, federal prosecutors can go back to federal court to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n

\"courtroom_02\"<\/a>The agreement resolves four patterns of unconstitutional conduct:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) discriminatory policing against Hispanic persons in MCSO\u2019s saturation patrols, general traffic enforcement and worksite operations targeting Hispanic immigrants<\/p>\n

(2) Detentions in violation of the Fourth Amendment during MCSO\u2019s worksite raids targeting Hispanic immigrants<\/p>\n

(3) Failures in the provision of language access to Hispanic LEP jail inmates<\/p>\n

(4) Retaliatory police action against critics of Sheriff Arpaio and the Sheriff’s Department.<\/p>\n

Last month, the federal district court of Arizona granted the United States\u2019 motion for partial summary judgment on its discriminatory policing claim, finding that the United States was entitled to judgment on its claims that the Sheriff’s Department had engaged in discrimination against Hispanics in its enforcement of traffic laws.<\/p>\n

A remedy on that issue is still to be determined by the court.\u00a0 The parties are in ongoing discussions to resolve the remaining claims in the division\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n

(Earlier News Report on Arapaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department)<\/p>\n