Prosecutor: Arpaio gave up right to appeal by accepting Trump pardon

PHOENIX — A special prosecutor appointed to defend a ruling that refused to erase former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's criminal record says the lawman gave up his right to appeal his contempt of court conviction when he accepted a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Christopher Caldwell said in a filing Monday with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that pardons moot any punishments that a person convicted of a crime might face, but they don't erase judgments made by courts in those cases.

If Arpaio wanted to challenge his misdemeanor conviction for disobeying a 2011 court order to stop his immigration patrols, then he should have rejected the pardon and taken his chances in an appeals court, Caldwell wrote.

"This appeal is Arpaio's last move to avoid being held accountable — even just on paper — for repeatedly violating Maricopa County residents' civil rights and willfully (and publicly) defying judicial attempts to protect them," Caldwell wrote. "This court should not indulge Arpaio's desire to operate above the law by vacating the order confirming that he broke it."

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/04/24/joe-arpaio-gave-up-right-appeal-when-he-accepted-trumps-pardon/3567847002/