Note to wife:
Yesterday’s conviction of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on criminal contempt charges wasn’t much of a surprise. As you know, he became famous for bragging about how tough he was – tougher than the criminals, tougher than the courts, and tougher even than the U.S. government. His public bravado in disregarding a federal judge’s order to stop targeting Latinos for arrest was legendary.
Although Paul Penzone, who handily beat Arpaio in last November’s election, has eliminated some of the showboat practices Arpaio inflicted on inmates, it would still be poetic justice if the ex-sheriff was sentenced to serve time in the same jail system.
However, that might not happen soon. Arpaio will appeal his conviction – and, of course, his old buddy Donald Trump could pardon him.