Still guilty! Sheriff Joe loses bid to have his conviction deleted from his record after presidential pardon

  • Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio defied a 2011 federal court order on immigration 
  • Officers were barred from targeting immigrants
  • U.S. District Judge Susan Ritchie Bolton refused Arpaio's request to have rulings overturned
  • She held him in contempt of court last year
  • President Trump granted Arpaio a 'full and unconditional pardon' August 25
  • The judge said the pardon does not 'revise the historical facts'
  • Though it takes away threat of punishment it does not ''blot out guilt,' she wrote 

The federal judge who held sheriff Joe Arpaio in contempt has refused his request to have ruling against him vacated – and a criminal contempt conviction will remain on his record.

The threat of jail time was removed when President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio August 25. But that doesn't mean a ruling of criminal contempt will be removed from his record. 

'The pardon undoubtedly spared Defendant from any punishment that might otherwise have been imposed. It did not, however, “revise the historical facts” of this  case,' U.S. District Judge Susan Ritchie Bolton ruled Thursday.

GUILTY: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is surrounded by protesters and members of the media at the the site of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in downtown Cleveland on the second day of the convention on July 19, 2016. President Donald Trump  pardoned  Arpaio. who was convicted of federal contempt earlier this year, and a federal judge has ruled that the court record will stand

GUILTY: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is surrounded by protesters and members of the media at the the site of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in downtown Cleveland on the second day of the convention on July 19, 2016. President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio. who was convicted of federal contempt earlier this year, and a federal judge has ruled that the court record will stand

She included a citation of a federal court's ruling in her own decision: “The power to pardon is an executive prerogative of mercy, not of judicial record-keeping,'

She quoted Black's Law dictionary in her ruling, saying the pardon 'releases the wrongdoer from punishment and restores the offender's civil rights without qualification." 

But she then added a further interpretation in her own words: "It does not erase a judgment of conviction, or its underlying legal and factual findings."     

In doing so, the judge refused the retired lawman's request to throw out all rulings in the case, including a blistering decision that explained her reasoning in finding him guilty of a crime.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio walks on stage to deliver a speech on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio walks on stage to deliver a speech on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio

The controversial Arizona sheriff had endorsed Trump and appeared at his campaign rallies, and was a favorite of the candidate who mentioned him regularly. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused to say at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing whether President Trump had asked him to drop the case before the president issued the pardon.

Such a request might constitute improper judicial interference. 

The request denied Thursday by Judge Bolton was aimed at clearing Arpaio's name and barring the ruling's use in future court cases as an example of a prior bad act.

Immigrant inmates line up for breakfast at the Maricopa County Tent City jail on March 11, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. The striped uniforms and pink undergarments are standard issue at the facility. The tent jail, run by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, houses undocumented immigrants who are serving up to one year after being convicted of crime in the county. Although many of immigrants have lived in the U.S for years, often with families, most will be deported to Mexico after serving their sentences.  (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Immigrant inmates line up for breakfast at the Maricopa County Tent City jail on March 11, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. The striped uniforms and pink undergarments are standard issue at the facility. The tent jail, run by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, houses undocumented immigrants who are serving up to one year after being convicted of crime in the county. Although many of immigrants have lived in the U.S for years, often with families, most will be deported to Mexico after serving their sentences. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Immigrant inmates are served milk at breakfast at the Maricopa County Tent City jail on March 11, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the standard daily breakfast at the facility. The tent jail, run by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, housed undocumented immigrants who are serving up to one year after being convicted of crime in the county

Immigrant inmates are served milk at breakfast at the Maricopa County Tent City jail on March 11, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the standard daily breakfast at the facility. The tent jail, run by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, housed undocumented immigrants who are serving up to one year after being convicted of crime in the county

Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. He refused to say if Trump asked him to drop the case

Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. He refused to say if Trump asked him to drop the case

Bolton said pardons don't erase convictions or the facts of cases. She said the pardon issued by President Donald Trump only mooted Arpaio's possible punishments.

'The pardon undoubtedly spared defendant from any punishment that might otherwise have been imposed,' Bolton wrote. 'It did not, however, 'revise the historical facts' of this case.'

Arpaio's attorneys appealed Thursday's decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA - JANUARY 26:  Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) of Maricopa County, Arizona endorses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to a rally on January 26, 2016 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Trump said today he would not participate in the next Republican debate hosted by Fox

MARSHALLTOWN, IA - JANUARY 26: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) of Maricopa County, Arizona endorses Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to a rally on January 26, 2016 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Trump said today he would not participate in the next Republican debate hosted by Fox

The conviction stemmed from Arpaio's disobedience of a 2011 court order that barred his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. Prosecutors had accused Arpaio of prolonging the patrols for 17 months so that he could promote his immigration enforcement efforts in a bid to boost his successful 2012 re-election campaign.

Arpaio, who endorsed Trump and appeared alongside him at rallies during the 2016 campaign, has acknowledged prolonging the patrols, but insisted his disobedience wasn't intentional and blamed one of his former attorneys for not adequately explaining the order's importance.

Critics say the Aug. 25 pardon removed the last chance at holding Arpaio legally accountable for a long history of misconduct, including a 2013 civil verdict in which Arpaio's officers were found to have racially profiled Latinos in the sheriff's immigration patrols.

The sheriff's defiance of the court order is believed to have contributed to his 2016 election loss after serving 24 years as metro Phoenix's top law enforcer.

Several legal advocacy groups had requested that the pardon be declared invalid or unconstitutional, arguing that letting it stand would encourage future violations of court orders.

Earlier this month, Bolton ruled that the pardon will stand and dismissed the case.

Trump pardoned Arpaio on a Friday night when 85-year old was facing up to 6 months in jail.

'Throughout his time as Sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.'

'Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now eighty-five years old, and after more than fifty years of admirable service to our Nation, he is worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon,' Trump wrote in a statement.