By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A federal court rejected an attempt to end nearly two decades of court-ordered reforms at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Thursday, leaving oversight in place that has now spanned four sheriffs.
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The oversight stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed by Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres against then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The court found the sheriff’s office had violated the constitutional rights of Latinos through racial profiling and unlawful traffic stops.
In December 2025, the county asked the court to lift the oversight, arguing MCSO had reformed enough since the original lawsuit that federal supervision was no longer necessary.
Total costs tied to the case — including litigation, legal fees and federal oversight — topped $330 million, according to figures the county provided to Arizona’s Family Investigates last year. The county has argued that money could instead be redirected to public safety needs.
The court disagreed, ruling that the county and MCSO had not shown that a “durable remedy” was in place to protect plaintiffs from discriminatory or unequal treatment if supervision ended now.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which represents Melendres, welcomed the ruling.
“The Court’s decision recognizes that any current and future misconduct committed by MCSO will not be tolerated,” ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Christine Wee said in a written statement.
She said plaintiffs are relieved by the ruling and that a different outcome would have hurt the county’s Latino residents.
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Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy director of the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, said the decision “keeps the focus where it belongs.”
“After years of being on notice of problems, MCSO should stop looking for ways to get out of this case prematurely and instead should fully commit to finally resolving the issues that have allowed problems to persist,” Borchetta said. “The rights of the Ortega Melendres plaintiffs and the people of Maricopa County deserve protection and respect, and we’ll keep fighting to ensure the reforms are fully implemented and lasting.”
Before leaving office in 2024, former Sheriff Paul Penzone said MCSO was no longer the department it was in 2007.
“What happened then doesn’t happen now,” Sheriff Penzone said then. “It’s a thing of the past. What is not a thing of the past is the quarter of a million dollars of taxpayer money that’s still being spent because of oversight that, in my opinion, has overstayed.”
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