Judge orders hearing on whether to vacate Arpaio's conviction
Joe Arpaio/Shutterstock.com
A federal judge in Phoenix has scheduled Oct. 4 oral arguments to consider whether President Donald Trump’s pardon of Joe Arpaio requires her to vacate his contempt conviction.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton canceled the sentencing hearing for the former high-profile sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, but she ordered briefing and arguments on his request to toss the conviction, report the Arizona Republic and the Associated Press.
A conviction remains on a person’s criminal record after a pardon unless a judge expunges it, BuzzFeed explains. Arpaio won’t face punishment because of the pardon, but his lawyers say the conviction must be vacated because the pardon was issued before sentencing and an appeal.
Arpaio, 85, was found guilty of contempt of court for violating a federal judge’s order to stop detaining citizens based only on a suspicion they were in the country illegally. He served as sheriff for 24 years before losing in an election in 2016.
