Last month we reported on the effort by Austin Flake to sue former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for malicious prosecution on animal cruelty charges.
Austin sprung from the loins of Never Trumper Senator Jeff Flake, a man whose approval rating in his home state is several digits south of dog vomit.
The son of Flake and his spouse were taking care of their in-laws’ dog kennel when the air conditioning went out causing 21 dogs that were crammed into a small room to roast to death.
The Flakes were charged but the case was dismissed by prosecutors after the actual owners of the kennel pleaded gutoy for not properly maintaining the AC.
Junior Flake then filed a lawsuit against Arpaio, claiming that the charges were politically motivated as a way to discredit his father, a man who does a good enough job of it himself.
On Thursday, a jury ruled against Flake and in favor of Arpaio, extending the family’s really, really bad year in politics.
Sen. Flake’s son loses lawsuit against former sheriff Joe Arpaio https://t.co/E0s48zkzVD http://pic.twitter.com/649H6e6QMI
— Arizona News (@ArizonaNewsnet) December 15, 2017
Via the Arizona Republic “Sen. Flake’s son loses lawsuit against former sheriff Joe Arpaio”:
A panel of eight jurors decided Thursday evening that plaintiffs in a civil trial against former Sheriff Joe Arpaio had not met their burden to prove the lawman maliciously prosecuted Arizona U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s son and his then-wife.
However, the U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake will not issue a final verdict until the defense explains its failure to turn over documents that may have benefited the plaintiffs, according to a plaintiffs’ attorney.
Jurors began deliberating at 5 p.m. and reached a verdict later in the evening, when the courthouse was closed.
Arpaio and plaintiffs’ attorney Stephen Montoya confirmed the outcome to The Arizona Republic.
The ruling caps a six-day trial that featured two of Arizona’s most prominent Republican names.
The case centers on a June 2014 tragedy, in which 21 dogs died of heat exhaustion while kenneled at a home outside of Gilbert.
Flake’s attorney released the following statement:
The struggle to hold government officials accountable has always required a steep, perilous climb. Although we disagree with the jury’s verdict, we are grateful we had the opportunity to force former Sheriff Arpaio and his subordinates at Maricopa County to account for their indisputably reckless conduct. Near the end of the trial, we discovered that the County failed to turn over documents that might have helped us prove our case. The Court has ordered the County to explain its failure and indicated that it will not enter a final judgment in the case until a satisfactory explanation is provided. We will access our future options in this fight when the County complies with the Court’s Order.
Sheriff Joe should get on the phone with his lawyers and consider filing a lawsuit against the Flakes for their own politically motivated scam intended to discredit him.
via Downtrend.com
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