Melendres # 1344
Melendres # 1344
Melendres # 1344
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Daniel J. Pochoda
dpochoda@acluaz.org
ACLU Foundation of Arizona
3707 N. 7th St., Ste. 235
Phoenix, Arizona 85014
Telephone: (602) 650-1854
Facsimile: (602) 650-1376
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I.
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1
II.
III.
ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................4
A.
B.
The Countys Counsel May Not Unilaterally Declare That They Represent Only
A Subset Of Maricopa County.............................................................................................5
C.
The Structure Of Arizona Government Does Not Permit The County To Escape
Liability For The Unconstitutional Actions Of Its Sheriff...................................................5
D.
E.
The County Is Bound By The Judgments Against MCSO And The Sheriff In His
Official Capacity. .................................................................................................................8
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IV.
CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................9
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
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Page(s)
Cases
Aetna Life Ins. Co. of Hartford, Conn. v. Haworth,
300 U.S. 227 (1937) ...............................................................................................................................4
Arizona v. Arpaio,
No. CV-14-01356- PHX-DGC, 2015 WL 1432674 (D. Ariz. Mar. 27, 2015) ......................................6
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Protectmarriage.com-Yes on 8 v. Bowen,
752 F.3d 827 (9th Cir. 2014), cert. denied sub nom., ProtectMarriage.com-Yes on 8 v.
Padilla, 135 S. Ct. 1523, 191 L. Ed. 2d 430 (2015) ..............................................................................4
Puente Arizona v. Arpaio,
76 F. Supp. 3d 833, 868 (D. Ariz. 2015) ...............................................................................................7
Streit v. Cnty. of Los Angeles,
236 F.3d 552 (9th Cir. 2001) .................................................................................................................7
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Statutes
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Other Authorities
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I.
INTRODUCTION
(County) Motion for Recognition of Its Rights as a Party Litigant (Motion). As explained
further herein, the Countys Motion is not ripe for review and should be denied on that basis.
This Court has not deprived the County of any rights as a party litigant, so the requisite of a
However, Plaintiffs also respectfully urge the Court to consider that the Countys
arguments are not new, but rather repackage the same contentions from when it challenged its
joinder to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. See Petition of Maricopa County, Arizona for
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Panel Rehearing and En Banc Determination, Ortega-Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., No. 13-
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16285 (9th Cir. June 10, 2015), ECF. No. 77 (Petition for Rehearing). Through this Motion,
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the Countys counsel again attempt just as they attempted in the Countys Petition for
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Rehearingto rebrand their client as a mere subset of Maricopa County which is powerless to
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subset of Maricopa County. Such redefinition of the Countys identity is at odds with Arizona
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law, is inconsistent with the Ninth Circuits decision to join the County in this case, and is
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precluded by the Countys own appearances. Further, the structure of Arizona government does
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not permit the County to escape liability for the unconstitutional actions of its sheriff. The
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County is the proper governmental entity implicated by this official capacity suit according to
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state and federal law. Thus, even if the County is permitted to speak for itself as a party to this
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case, the County is bound by the judgments of this Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
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II.
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County. Compl., Dkt. No. 1. On September 5, 2008, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended
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Complaint against the Sheriff and the County and also added MCSO as a defendant. Dkt.
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No. 18.
Notably, in both the initial Complaint and the First Amended Complaint, the County was
defined as a political subdivision of the State of Arizona that can sue and be sued in its own
The County, along with the Sheriff and MCSO, continued to defend the action until
September 21, 2009. At that time, the County and Plaintiffs filed a stipulation dismissing the
County from the action (Joint Motion to Dismiss). Dkt. No. 178. The stipulation provided
that the Countys dismissal was without prejudice to rejoining [the County] as a Defendant at a
later time in this lawsuit if doing so becomes necessary to obtain complete relief. Id. at 3. On
October 13, 2009, the Joint Motion was granted. Dkt. No. 194. The lawsuit continued, as
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described in the panel decisions of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 695 F.3d 990 (9th Cir.
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In 2010, in a case involving a wrongful death alleged to have been caused by inadequate
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training of MCSO personnel, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that MCSO was a nonjural
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entity. Braillard v. Maricopa Cnty., 232 P.3d 1263, 1275 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2010). It stated,
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Because we have concluded MCSO is a nonjural entity, such a claim, based on the training
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issues identified in our discussion of Arpaios liability, can be made properly against the
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County. Id.
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In 2013, the District Court concluded that the Sheriff and MCSO had violated the Fourth
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and Fourteenth Amendments and awarded injunctive relief. Dkt. Nos. 579, 606, 748. Sheriff
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Arpaio and MCSO appealed, and the Ninth Circuit issued its panel decision on April 15, 2015,
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affirming the liability findings and the injunctive remedy, with the sole exception of one
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However, citing the Braillard decision, the unanimous panel stated, it is now clear that
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MCSO has improperly been named as a party in this action, and pursuant to Federal Rule of
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Civil Procedure 21, it ordered that Maricopa County be substituted for MCSO. Melendres v.
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Arpaio, 784 F.3d 1254, 1260 (9th Cir. 2015) (Melendres II).
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Two days later, counsel for the County entered a Notice of Appearance in this case,
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stating, the firm of Walker & Peskind, PLLC (Richard K. Walker, Esquire) appears in the
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(County), in the above-captioned matter, Dkt. No. 1011 at 1, without further qualification.
The County simultaneously challenged the decision of the Ninth Circuit Panel to
substitute the County for MCSO, seeking a panel rehearing or en banc determination. Petition
for Rehearing. In contrast to its unrestricted appearance of its counsel in this case, Dkt. No.
1011, the Countys counsel asserted in the Petition for Rehearing that they represented only
that portion of the government of Maricopa County embodied in the Maricopa County Board of
Supervisors, and those appointed officials and employees of the County who serve under the
supervision and direction of the foregoing, to the exclusion of any other Maricopa County
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officer whose office is filled by the electoral process . . . or to any of the officials and other
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employees of the County who serve under the supervision and direction of such Constitutional
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Officers. Petition for Rehearing at 3, n.1. This attempted self-redefinition of the County by its
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counsel formed part of the Countys argument that joining the County would violate federalism
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principles and the Tenth Amendment. See id. at 15 (Such a realignment of Maricopa Countys
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governmental structure and lines of authority by the federal judiciary would represent an
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unprecedented and intolerable intrusion upon the sovereign prerogatives of the State of
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Arizona.). Plaintiffs opposed the Petition for Rehearing, arguing that that joinder gave rise to
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Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., No. 13-16285 (9th Cir. June 10, 2015), ECF. No. 85. On June
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26, 2015, the Ninth Circuit summarily denied the Countys Petitions, Dkt. No. 1272, Exhibit 4.
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Now the County moves for full recognition of its rights as a party litigant in this case,
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with its counsel stating yet again that they represent only that portion of the government of
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Maricopa County embodied in the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the Maricopa County
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Manager, and those appointed officials and employees of the County who serve under the
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supervision and direction of the foregoing, to the exclusion of any other Maricopa County
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officer whose office is filled by the electoral process . . . or to any of the officials and other
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employees of the County who serve under the supervision and direction of such Constitutional
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While Plaintiffs do not object to counsel for the County saying whatever they want to
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say, subject to fairness in the allocation of time and briefing pages, they do oppose the present
motion because there is no relief to be granted at this time. They also write to make clear the
incorrectness of the Countys attempt to redefine itself and the responsibility of the County for
III.
ARGUMENT
A.
Claiming denial of due process, the County asks this Court to recognize that [certain]
rights are inherent to the County as a party, and to honor them without qualification in all future
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proceedings. Motion at 2, 14. Yet, the County does not cite a single instancenor can itin
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which the Court has denied the County the full panoply of rights of any other party to this
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matter. Dkt. No. 1272 at 2. To the contrary, the County merely cites to instances in which the
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Court has framed the question of whether the County has the right to participate as a separately
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represented party, but has not acted in any way to restrict such participation. Id. at 2, n.2. Thus,
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The Countys Motion plainly is not ripe for review. It is well-established that for a court
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to render a decision, there must be a real and substantial controversy admitting of specific relief
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through a decree of a conclusive character, as distinguished from an opinion advising what the
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law would be upon a hypothetical state of facts. Aetna Life Ins. Co. of Hartford, Conn. v.
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Haworth, 300 U.S. 227, 241 (1937). Moreover, [f]or adjudication of constitutional issues,
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concrete legal issues, presented in actual cases, not abstractions, are requisite.
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Protectmarriage.com-Yes on 8 v. Bowen, 752 F.3d 827, 838 (9th Cir. 2014), cert. denied sub
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nom., ProtectMarriage.com-Yes on 8 v. Padilla, 135 S. Ct. 1523, 191 L. Ed. 2d 430 (2015)
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(internal quotations omitted). There is no actual controversy at this juncture regarding the
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Countys status as a party in this case, and as a result, there can be no relief to which the
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County is entitled.
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B.
The Countys Counsel May Not Unilaterally Declare That They Represent
Only A Subset Of Maricopa County.
The Countys Motion rests on a definition of the County that includes only the Board
of Supervisors and County Manager and those who serve under them, while explicitly excluding
other elected officials, such as the Sheriff, and those who serve under such officials. See Motion
at 1, n.1. The Countys self-definition is impermissible.
Arizona law defines the county as more than just the Board of Supervisors, the County
Manager, and those who serve under them. The Arizona Constitution provides that each county
shall be a body politic and corporate. Ariz. Const. art. XII, 1. The Board of Supervisors and
the Sheriff are each among the nine enumerated officers of the County. Ariz. Const. art. XII,
3; Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. 11-401. The entity that is liable is the County as it is defined under
these Arizona laws.
When the panel of the Ninth Circuit joined Maricopa County in this case, it did so
without any of the qualifications that the Countys counsel now unilaterally declare. See
Melendres II, 784 F.3d at 1260 (We therefore order that Maricopa County be substituted as a
party in lieu of MCSO.). The County agreed that was the Ninth Circuits intent when counsel
for the County entered an appearance in this case. Two days after the panels decision was
issued, counsel for the County entered a Notice of Appearance in this case, stating, the firm of
Walker & Peskind, PLLC (Richard K. Walker, Esquire) appears in the above-captioned action
as counsel for defendant MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA (County), in the abovecaptioned matter, without further qualification. Dkt. No. 1011 at 1. There also were no
qualifications when the County was initially a party to this case prior to dismissal in September
2009. Dkt. Nos. 1, 18.
After the Ninth Circuits decision in Melendres II, the County is again party to this case,
and its counsel may not artificially redefine their client.
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C.
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The Countys argument rests on the flawed premise that the Board of Supervisors
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alleged lack of control over the Sheriff makes it powerless to prevent the Sheriffs misconduct
or to effectively require the sheriff to comply with corrective measure[s] calculated to remedy
it. See Motion at 9. This is an argument that the County has made multiple times in an attempt
to escape liability, and it has lost every time. See, e.g., Arizona v. Arpaio, No. CV-14-01356-
PHX-DGC, 2015 WL 1432674, at *2 (D. Ariz. Mar. 27, 2015) (Contrary to the Countys
argument, a countys lack of control over a sheriff is not dispositive of its liability for his law-
Further, the notion that the Board lacks control over the Sheriff has been determined to be
unfounded. Judge Silver of the District Court of the District of Arizona has described the many
ways in which the County exercises control over the Sheriff, United States v. Maricopa County,
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et al., No. CV-12-00981 (D. Ariz. June 15, 2015), ECF No. 379 at 16-20, and has concluded
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the Board of Supervisors is charged with supervising the sheriff under [Arizona] statute, id. at
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20. The Ninth Circuit has also determined that [m]erely because a county official exercises
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certain functions independently of other political entities within the county does not mean that
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he does not act for the county. Goldstein v. City of Long Beach, 715 F.3d 750, 757 (9th Cir.
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2013), cert. denied sub nom., Cnty. of Los Angeles, Cal. v. Goldstein, 134 S. Ct. 906, 187 L. Ed.
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2d 778 (2014) (citing Brewster v. Shasta Cnty., 275 F.3d 803, 810 (9th Cir. 2001)) ( emphasis in
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original).
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D.
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The County asserts for the first time in this case that the proper jural entity to substitute
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for MCSO is not the County, but Arizona State. Motion 10-12. The County did not make this
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argument in its Petition for Rehearing, Dkt. No. 1116, Exhibit 1, and it cannot do so now.
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Following Melendres II and the denial of the Countys Petition for Rehearing, it is law of the
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The Countys joinder also is the correct result, both according to the decision of the
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Arizona Court of Appeals and because the County actually is liable for harms caused by the
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unconstitutional policies set by the Sheriff acting as the Countys law enforcement officer.
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The Arizona Court of Appeals has explicitly pointed out that claims against MCSO, a
nonjural entity, are properly asserted against the County instead. Braillard, 232 P.3d at 1275
(Because we have concluded MCSO is a nonjural entity, such a claim, based on the training
issues identified in our discussion of Arpaios liability, can be made properly against the
County.). The County has argued that the County should not have been joined because the
County (which the Motion and its Petition for Rehearing sought to define as primarily the
Countys Board of Supervisors, see Motion at 1, n.1; Petition for Rehearing at 3, n.1) is separate
and independent from the Sheriff, his office, and other constitutional officers. Petition for
Rehearing at 7-8. But such separate jural existence is precisely what the Arizona Court of
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Appeals rejected in Braillard. Adding the County as a named party is the logical consequence
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of Braillards conclusions that MCSO has no jural existence apart from the County and that an
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action brought putatively against MCSO is really an action against the County.
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policies executed by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy
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inflict constitutional injury. Monell v. Dept of Soc. Servs. of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 659
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(1978). In evaluating a countys liability for constitutional torts committed by its officers, a
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court must consider the states legal characterization of the government entities which are
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parties to these actions[;] however, federal law provides the rule of decision in section 1983
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actions. Streit v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 236 F.3d 552, 560 (9th Cir. 2001); see also McMillian
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v. Monroe Cnty., Ala., 520 U.S. 781, 786 (1997) (an officials final policymaking authority for
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On matters of law enforcement, Sheriff Arpaio is the final policymaker for Maricopa
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County. The Countys liability for the Sheriffs unconstitutional policymaking in that field is
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the necessary consequence. See Flanders v. Maricopa Cnty., 54 P.3d 837, 847 (Ariz. Ct. App.
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2002) (concluding in jail conditions case that the Sheriff is a final policymaker for the County
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for purposes of 42 U.S.C. 1983 liability); Puente Arizona v. Arpaio, 76 F. Supp. 3d 833, 868
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(D. Ariz. 2015) (Flanders compels the conclusion that Sheriff Arpaio is the final policymaker
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for [Maricopa] County on law-enforcement matters.); Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S.
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469, 484 n.12 (1986) (decisions over which a sheriff is the official policymaker give rise to
county liability); Cortez v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 294 F.3d 1186, 1192 (9th Cir. 2002) (a county
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E.
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The County Is Bound By The Judgments Against MCSO And The Sheriff In
His Official Capacity.
echo its previous threats that it will seek to relitigate prior judgments. See Petition for
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Rehearing, Ortega-Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al., No. 13-16285 (9th Cir. June 10, 2015),
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ECF. No. 77 at 15-16. So, it bears repeating that the County is bound by the earlier decisions of
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this Court and of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Under the law of the case doctrine, the
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decision of an appellate court on a legal issue must be followed in all subsequent proceedings in
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the same case. Herrington v. Cnty. of Sonoma, 12 F.3d 901, 904 (9th Cir. 1993) (citation
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omitted). It is also basic civil procedure that [c]ollateral estoppel applies not only against
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actual parties to prior litigation, but also against a party that is in privity to a party in previous
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litigation. Washington Mut. Inc. v. United States, 636 F.3d 1207, 1216 (9th Cir. 2011).
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Privity exists when there is substantial identity between parties, that is, when there is
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sufficient commonality of interest. In re Gottheiner, 703 F.2d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir. 1983).1
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[a]n action against a government officer in her official capacity is ordinarily equivalent to an
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action against the government entity itself. Normandeau v. City of Phoenix, 516 F. Supp. 2d
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1054, 1070 (D. Ariz. 2005) (judgment for Motor Vehicle Division served to bind plaintiff in a
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later suit against Director of Motor Vehicle Division in her official capacity); see also Tait v. W.
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Plaintiff have moved to dismiss as untimely and barred a separate appeal that the County has filed
against the Courts 2011 preliminary injunction and 2013 injunction orders.
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Maryland Ry. Co., 289 U.S. 620, 626 (1933) (judgment against the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue in his official capacity bound the United States in a later suit). Here, there is identity of
interest for the same reason. The County may not relitigate any issues of law or fact that have
IV.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Plaintiffs respectfully submit that the Countys Motion is not ripe for
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review and should be denied at least on that basis. Throughout this litigation, the County has
tried in vain to untether itself from the Sheriff, disclaiming responsibility for the Sheriffs
actions despite his status as a final policymaker for the County. The Countys request to be
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recognized as a separate party should be read in light of its previous attempts to skirt liability as
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well as its threats that it will seek to relitigate the prior decisions of this Court. The County may
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not escape its liability and may not relitigate previously decided issues.2
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Daniel Pochoda
ACLU Foundation of Arizona
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Plaintiffs also do not believe it is necessary or appropriate to dismiss Sheriff Arpaio as a party to this
case.
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on September 14, 2015 I electronically transmitted the attached
document to the Clerks office using the CM/ECF System for filing and caused the attached
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