Convicted without a Jury

Joe Arpaio was found guilty Monday of criminal contempt for defying a judge’s order to stop detaining illegal immigrants, but the former sheriff isn’t going down without a fight.

Shortly after U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued her verdict, Arpaio attorney Jack Wilenchik said the longtime lawman of Maricopa County, Arizona, once known as “America’s toughest sheriff,” plans to appeal and press for a jury trial.

“Joe Arpaio is in this for the long haul, and he will continue his fight to vindicate himself, to prove his innocence and to protect the public,” Mr. Wilenchik said in a statement.

He said the judge “violated the United States Constitution by issuing her verdict without even reading it to the defendant in public court. Her verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”

Read more at The Washington Times