A federal judge has refused to allow the Maricopa County sheriff’s office to end its decade-old court orders aimed at eliminating racial profiling and systemic issues within the department. In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow denied the county’s request to shirk responsibility, stating that the office had failed to demonstrate a good faith effort to remove racial bias against Latino drivers from its policing tactics.

Stalled Progress on Court Orders

The oversight stems from a 2013 ruling that found former Sheriff Joe Arpaio had promoted a pattern and practice of racial profiling. Snow, a George W. Bush appointee, noted that while conditions have improved under three different sheriffs, there is no evidence the department is ready to be released from federal supervision. The judge wrote that the defendants have not established a durable remedy sufficient to ensure they will not resume the violations that led to the original orders.

To be released from the court’s oversight, the sheriff’s office must remain in compliance with Snow’s orders for three consecutive years. Reports indicate the department has only achieved between 68% and 84% compliance across Snow’s four permanent injunctions, falling short of the 94% or higher requirement. The office has phased out 100% of Arpaio’s policies as required, but the metrics show the work is not finished. The requirement for three full years of compliance aims to establish a record of sustained good faith efforts, a threshold the department has not yet cleared despite the passage of over a decade.

Internal Obstruction and Data Gaps

The judge’s decision highlights ongoing concerns regarding command staff interference with disciplinary actions. Monitor reports as recent as 2025 show that leadership has attempted to obstruct investigations into the Professional Standards Bureau. This mirrors the tactics used by Arpaio during the height of the federal scrutiny.

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Despite the county‘s argument that racial bias no longer infects its policing, statistical disparities in traffic stop data remain a point of contention. The county’s own data shows Hispanic motorists are approximately 40% more likely to be arrested than white motorists, stopped approximately 30% longer than white motorists, and about 2.5 times more likely to be searched. Snow agreed that these indicia of bias do not directly prove discriminatory policing but argued the burden of proof lies with the county to explain the disparities. Both the county and the intervening Department of Justice have declined to proffer declarations as to why Hispanic drivers are stopped and arrested more often if not for racial bias, leaving the statistical gaps unexplained.

It is a difficult cycle for the department to break. When officials point to the clean data in recent quarterly reports, they must also contend with the stubborn backlog of internal investigations and the internal resistance to discipline that continues to surface in audits. The court’s decision signals that the underlying culture of resistance, rather than just the policies on paper, remains the primary obstacle to independence. Although the backlog has dropped from 2,000 cases to fewer than 300 as of July 31, the struggle to maintain this progress against internal resistance remains a focal point of the ongoing federal scrutiny.

Costs and Political Pushback

The county has spent more than $226 million to comply with the oversight goals since 2014. However, an independent audit suggested the county overestimated these costs by more than 70%. The debate over the monitorship has also moved into the political arena. In February, Republican Congressman Andy Biggs chaired a subcommittee hearing in support of ending the federal oversight, with Maricopa County Supervisor Debbie Lesko testifying on the county’s behalf.

During that hearing, Lesko admitted she did not know the extent of the department’s compliance with the orders, despite her support for ending the monitorship. While community members express frustration with the pace of change, county officials maintain that perfection is unrealistic and that they deserve credit for the progress made over the last ten years. Representatives for the plaintiffs — a class of Latino motorists — and Maricopa County did not immediately reply to a request for comment regarding the judge’s latest ruling.