Arpaio Demands Recusal

PHOENIX – “America’s Toughest Sheriff” Joe Arpaio on Wednesday again lobbied to remove the judge and court-appointed monitor in a racial profiling case against him, claiming both engaged in “improper” ex parte communications involving the merits of the case.     This is the third time Arpaio has demanded recusal of a judge hearing the long-running case, and the first time he’s gone after the court-appointed monitor.     In 2015, Arpaio claimed a judge showed bias when asking about the sheriff’s hiring a private eye to investigate the judge’s wife. When the judge refused to step aside, Arpaio again called for recusal based on that refusal.