Lawyers fight Arpaio's bid to bar records at trial
-
Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio
Web Producer: Ina Ronquillo
PHOENIX (AP) - Lawyers pressing a racial profiling lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office urged a judge to let them introduce at trial citizen complaints that they say shows the sheriff based some of his immigration enforcement efforts on racially charged complaints that didn't allege actual crimes.
The lawyers are trying to persuade U.S. District Judge Murray Snow to deny an earlier request by Arpaio's attorneys to prevent such evidence at trial.
Arpaio's attorneys say the letters contain hearsay and therefore shouldn't be allowed at trial.
The lawsuit by a handful of Latinos alleges that Arpaio's officers based some traffic stops on the race of Hispanics in vehicles and had no probable cause to pull them over.
Arpaio has denied the racial profiling allegations.
No trial date has yet been set.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.