Maricopa County patrol officers stopped Hispanic drivers for longer periods and searched them more often than other drivers, according to an annual report analyzing traffic-stop data. The results are similar to those over the past three years. Read more»

The Justice Department is suing California, alleging constitutional violations in that three state laws enacted this past year that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials to protect immigrants. Read more»

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration's order forcing cities to comply with immigration officials or lose funding is “unconstitutional on its face” and blocked the White House from enforcing the policy nationwide. Read more»

Judge Susan Bolton accepted President Trump's pardon of ex-Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and dismissed his conviction for criminal contempt on Wednesday. Read more» 3

Saying the existing case law doesn't support erasing the conviction of ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the federal judge who found him guilty of criminal contempt has asked government lawyers to explain why they are backing the former lawman's request to completely vacate the case after he was pardoned. Read more»

The Justice Department filed papers Monday with the federal judge who convicted ex-Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio, supporting a bid by defense attorneys to vacate his criminal conviction in the wake of a pardon by President Trump. A friend of the court brief said the pardon was "unconstitutional" and that the conviction should stand. Read more»

President Trump pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday, allowing the ex-lawman to walk free despite facing sentencing for his conviction on criminal contempt charges in a racial profiling case. Arpaio did not immediately indicate if he would accept the pardon, which "carries an imputation of guilt" under the law. Read more» 1

The ex-Maricopa sheriff made his name in part by targeting immigrants — even after a judge ordered him to stop. As President Trump considers a pardon, it’s worth remembering precisely what Arpaio did in his decades in law enforcement. His office at one point stopped investigating sex crimes against children, depleted its patrol division and nearly bankrupted itself. Read more»

Former Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio was guilty found of criminal contempt by a federal judge on Monday. Arpaio, while sheriff, violated the constitutional rights of people by detaining them without state charges, solely for violating civil immigration law, and did not halt the practice when ordered to by a federal court. Read more»

I’m always a little bit wary when I hear calls for civility in politics. It's an easy stance after an ugly political incident. Do I want our political debates to sound like pro-wrestling ring interviews? Of course not. It’s just that I question the need for “civility” to be the number-one watchword in our civic life. Read more»

Gov. Doug Ducey told a U.S.-Mexico diplomacy conference Wednesday that maintaining good trade between the countries is important, and he expects the state to have a “seat at the table” in any upcoming trade negotiations. Read more»

Tucson Democrat Raul Grijalva said President Trump's announcement of a "Commission on Election Integrity" is "straight out of an Orwell novel." Trump, who has repeatedly made unfounded claims that illegal voting played a significant role in the 2016 election, named VP Pence and "voter ID" advocate Kris Kobach to the panel. Read more»

"What your community has stood for: I am glad to remind our citizens that their city has been on the forefront of protecting civil rights of all citizens, regardless of race, color, national origin, religious beliefs, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation." Read more»

Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday, around 200 people marked the occasion by marching to Tucson's City Hall, demanding the mayor and City Council declare Tucson a "sanctuary city," which includes issuing municipal IDs for unauthorized immigrants, refusing to work with immigration officials, and setting up a legal fund. Read more»

The high court began its new term this week with one judgeship empty for the first time in a generation, and just one Arizona case on the docket for the first time in several years. Read more»