Judge dismisses case against Arpaio

A federal judge has accepted President Trump’s pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton’s decision means the case cannot be reinstituted, but did not rule on Arpaio’s request that all rulings in the case be formally vacated. Civil rights attorney Stephen Montoya said that the decision was unfortunate, but not surprising. According to Montoya, although case law supports Judge Bolton’s decision, he believes she went too far in allowing the pardon to erase not just the punishment for Arpaio, but the conviction as a whole.