Lawyers Protest Arpaio, Former Lawyer for Sheriff Calls Him “Totalitarian”

America's Voice Blog

Posted 12/23/09 at 02:06pm

Lawyers Protest Arpaio, Former Lawyer for Sheriff Calls Him “Totalitarian”

300 lawyers in suits protested Maricopa County Attorney, Andrew Thomas, charging him and Sheriff Joe Arpaio with making a complete mockery of the justice system. Headlining the protest weren’t left-leaning activist attorneys like the ones you might expect . They were self-described conservative Republicans, one of whom actually worked as a prosecutor for Arpaio -- before she couldn’t take it anymore.

From the Arizona Republic:

Sheila Polk, a Republican and career prosecutor, spent six months working on two of the cases sought by Thomas and Arpaio in their ongoing battle against county officials and the courts. Her office handled the first criminal case against Supervisor Don Stapley and the investigation into the disputed Superior Court tower project.

In her letter [an opinion piece published in the Arizona Republic], Polk wrote that although Maricopa County isn't her jurisdiction, she can't sit by and watch the abuses from a distance anymore:

I am conservative and passionately believe in limited government, not the totalitarianism that is spreading before my eyes...the actions of Arpaio and Thomas are a disservice to the hundreds of dedicated men and women who work in their offices and a threat to the entire criminal-justice system.

Sarah Fenske & Paul Rubin at the Phoenix New Times describe the origins of the rally of lawyers who aren’t exactly the rallying type:

The rally was triggered by an email sent by prominent Phoenix criminal-defense attorney Jim Belanger last week. Belanger, with Coppersmith Schermer & Brockelman, said he was inspired to act after Thomas' office filed criminal charges against Judge Donahoe.

"It struck me that we had gone from political self-interest to dangerousness," he said.

But Arpaio and Thomas continue to do their thing: feeling entirely too comfortable operating above the law, and bringing bogus charges against anyone who dares to challenge their reign. Even John McCain and Jon Kyl, Arizona’s two Senators, continue to press their support for Arpaio in Washington. Can anyone really believe that a Senator would go out of his way to support two black or Latino elected officials who forced a Polish immigrant to give birth in shackles?

When asked for a reaction to the protest, "Thomas laughed off the rally with a quip: 'They predicted 1,000 people would turn out, and obviously that didn't materialize. So, I guess I'm not as big a draw as the sheriff,'” according to the Republic.

The Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives has held hearings; the Department of Homeland Security has given Arpaio a slap on the wrist; the Department of Justice is investigating civil rights violations; and the FBI is in Phoenix. But as Washington dithers, Thomas continues to laugh it off.

Kudos to the brave men and women in Arizona who continue to press on without big funding and with the constant threat of politicians who can use the power of police cars, guns and jails to exact revenge without any checks on their power.

On January 16^th, there will be a huge rally in Phoenix. I’ll be there and I hope you will too.