Lawyers defending Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio urged a federal judge on Thursday not to proceed with contempt charges against the lawman and his department over the violation of court orders in a 2007 racial-profiling case.
A frustrated U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow asked attorneys last month in the high-profile trial to submit court papers by a Thursday deadline regarding possible charges that could be leveled against Arpaio, who bills himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff".
"There is no evidence suggesting that Sheriff Arpaio intentionally or deliberately violated the court's orders," criminal defense attorney Mel McDonald said in the filings in Phoenix.
He added that the sheriff admits mistakes were made in communicating and implementing court orders.
Snow ruled in May 2013 that Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies racially profiled Latino drivers for traffic stops and detained them for too long. Arpaio has appealed against the ruling and denied that his deputies racially profile.
At a hearing last month, Snow cited instances in which deputies were not told of the court's order, and where material was not turned over to Latino drivers' lawyers.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs had not filed their comments with the court as of late on Thursday but have said in court that Arpaio should be held in contempt for repeatedly ignoring court orders.
It was not immediately known when Snow would rule.
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