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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJustice Department: Trump pardon merits nullifying rulings in Arpaio case
By JOSH GERSTEIN 09/21/2017 02:41 PM EDT
Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio is entitled to have the guilty verdict and all rulings in his criminal contempt of court case formally nullified by the court as a result of the pardon President Donald Trump issued last month, the Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday.
Responding to a request from U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton, federal prosecutors acknowledged that there is no legal precedent that squarely answers the question of what should happen when someone receives a pardon after a verdict is reached (in this case by a judge) but before the conviction is officially entered.
In July, Bolton found Arpaio guilty of contempt for defying a court order requiring his deputies to stop racial profiling of Latinos. Trump pardoned the former sheriff in August, citing his long history of public service.
Citing the pardon, Arpaio's attorneys are asking that the convictions and all orders and opinions entered in the case be vacatedin essence, canceled. "There is no case law directly addressing whether vacatur is appropriate under the circumstances at issue herewhen a presidential pardon moots a criminal prosecution after a finding of guilt but before a judgment of conviction is entered," prosecutors wrote in their five-page submission.
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http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/09/21/joe-arpaio-trump-pardon-ruling-nullifying-242981
samnsara
(17,622 posts)delisen
(6,043 posts)There will likely be some more pardons by Trump in bold attempts to negate the rule of law.
We don't want the fascists writing the history of our times.
machoneman
(4,006 posts)example of case law. Let Arpaio's lawyers beat their gums all the way to the SC, spending lots of his money to do so.
procon
(15,805 posts)Likewise in accepting that pardon, Arpaio confirms his guilt and the validity of his guilty verdict. Trump's executive pardon might have circumvented any penalties for Arpaio's crimes, but it doesn't remove his guilt.
How can Arpaio's guilt, both the recognition and acceptance of the fact that he did indeed commit the crimes he was charged with, ever be "nullified"?