After years of enduring politically targeted oversight and millions of taxpayer dollars going to the monitor leading the oversight, Robert Warshaw, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has finally taken a step to end federal oversight of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
Outside counsel for the Board filed a “Rule 60” motion which asks a federal court for relief from the injunctions in the Arpaio v. Melendres lawsuit. The motion argues:
The motion argues that because continued federal oversight is no longer equitable, justified, or tailored to any ongoing violation, the County is entitled to relief from the hundreds of prescriptive court orders tied to the Melendres case, many of which are unrelated to the original lawsuit. Maricopa County has spent more than $300 million to comply with four different Melendres court orders, with more than $30 million in fees spent on a court-appointed monitor alone.
Maricopa County argues that continued federal oversight “upsets the democratic process and America’s federalist structure by making local officials accountable to a federal court—based on the conduct of a former Sheriff who has been out of office for fourteen years.”
Rule 60(b)(5) permits a party to obtain relief from a judgment or order if it “has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively is no longer equitable.”
Funny, I don’t recall from Civics class (when that was a thing) where the Constitution granted the fedgov the power to regulate and oversee State or local law enforcement. And, as I recall, all powers not granted to the fedgov, nor denied to the States, are reserved to the States and the people, e.g. local govs. As for the Supremacy Clause, does it really need to be stated that the fedgov’s laws are supreme ONLY in the narrowly defined powers granted to it by the Constitution (else why bother stating what the fedgov may do if it can simply declare it can do whatever it wants with a single magical phrase, “muh supremacy”?)
IMO, the State should have investigated, prosecuted, and overseen MCSO’s compliance. But, Py, you say, what if the State won’t? And I retort, well what if the fedgov won’t? Do we then appeal to the U.N.? The Avengers? Demand Divine intervention? There must be a limit, and in our form of gov’t the limit is clearly the State.
So called federal oversight was and still is a control mechanism by the D statists over city police. It was elevated to prominance during the Obama administratikn. They made up some crisis or sturred up public opinion about injustices or civil rights violations. Then, filed a lawsuit and forced a “settlement” on the cities to put them under federal control. It is the opposite of what the founding fathers wanted, no federal police. It is time to end the existing ones and outlaw future ones.
At least a decade overdue, if actually needed at all, but better late than never I suppose.
potatoes or pota’toes? expensive fries