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Sheriff Babeu denied support from County Attorney
Received article
Friday, July 23, 2010
Biased CA Refuses to Step Aside in Lawsuit over Arizona Immigration Law
Pinal County, AZ - Attempts by Sheriff Paul Babeu to replace County Attorney Jim Walsh with the legal counsel being funded to defend Sheriffs by the Legacy Foundation in a lawsuit over the new Arizona immigration law, SB 1070, were again rebuffed this week by the County Attorney's office.
On June 12 Sheriff Babeu submitted a request to the Pinal County Attorney's office to substitute the counsel of the Legacy Foundation for that of Mr. Walsh following public comments revealing Walsh had "serious doubts" about the constitutionality of Arizona's new immigration law SB 1070 -- a law Sheriff Babeu will be required for enforce in six days. Mr. Walsh responded with a list of requirements the new counsel for Sheriff Babeu's office needed to meet before he would agree to the substitution but, following Sheriff Babeu's fulfillment of those requirements, has determined he will not even allow the proposed substitution to be approved or go to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
Walsh has indicated he will only allow the Sheriff to employ the County Attorney (which costs taxpayers money), or in the alternative, the Governor's legal counsel. Sheriff Babeu wants to hire a law firm that will compliment the Governor's legal defense, but that will also provide a unique law enforcement perspective on the defense. Under no circumstance does Sheriff Babeu want to be represented by the current County Attorney who has publicly bashed the case in support of SB 1070.
"Pinal County Sheriff's deputies and the people of Arizona are under attack by the ACLU and the federal government for simply enforcing our laws and defending our borders," said Paul Babeu, Sheriff of Pinal County. "The Legacy Foundation has agreed to defend our right to defend ourselves, and it is only fair and just for my office to have legal counsel from those who will stand with us. Mr. Walsh's statements to the media questioning the law's constitutionality eliminate any chance of a strong legal defense from his office."
"This latest rejection by County Attorney Jim Walsh only confirms that he is unfit to represent me and the Office of the Sheriff as we enforce the Arizona immigration law, SB 1070. Our repeated attempts to substitute proper representation in place of Mr. Walsh's clear bias against our law enforcement efforts have been met with outright opposition. We overcame the several hurdles Mr. Walsh outlined but it is clear he never intended to approve our request from the beginning."
"We ask again that the County Attorney honor our request to step aside so we are defended by those who agree with us, will fight for us, and will illuminate the unique law enforcement perspective in the courtroom."
BorderSheriffs.com is a project of the Legacy Foundation to financially support the legal defense of SB 1070 on behalf of Pinal County Sheriff Babeu and Cochise County Sheriff Dever following lawsuits brought by the ACLU and the US Department of Justice against them and the state of Arizona. The Foundation is 501(c)(3) organization based in Des Moines, Iowa focused on state level policy matters, including constitutional and civil rights.
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Pinal County Sheriff's Office
The County Attorney refuses to step aside.
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