A jury has sided in favor of conservative icon, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, against the lawsuit filed by Austin Flake, the son of GOP establishment Senator Jeff Flake, and Austin’s ex-wife, Logan Brown.
Flake and Brown had filed a lawsuit against the Arizona sheriff for “malicious prosecution” after over a dozen dogs died on their watch at a Gilbert dog kennel.
The jury decided Flake and Brown had failed to provide sufficient evidence to back up their accusations of malicious prosecution by Arpaio, The Associated Press reported via Tucson.com.
Flake and Brown ran the kennel while Brown’s parents were out of town in 2014, the AP reported.
The two were still in college.
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Initially, Flake and Brown were charged in the incident, but the charges were dropped at the prosecution’s request. Later, Flake’s in-laws pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined that the facility air conditioner failed because it was not properly maintained.
Thus, the owners of the kennel were responsible for the death of the 21 dogs, and they answered for their crimes.
Nonetheless, Flake and Brown reportedly alleged that Arpaio had charged them to gain publicity and deal damage to Senator Flake — an establishment fixture within the GOP.
The two “contended the charges caused them emotional distress, contributed to the demise of their marriage and led the senator’s son to being suspended from college for an honor-code violation,” according to The Associated Press.
Despite the jury’s decision, the U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake will not issue a final verdict until the defense explains why it didn’t turn over documents that may have benefited the plaintiffs, according to a statement from the plaintiffs’ attorney to The Associated Press.
“The struggle to hold government officials accountable has always required a steep, perilous climb,” the plaintiffs’ attorney said in a Friday statement according to KNPX.
“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,” he continued.
“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.”
Charges that didn’t pan out are an annoyance to those affected — there’s no question of that.
But to claim that those charges — which were dropped — were the reason behind a failed marriage, and that Arpaio needs to pay is completely ridiculous.
H/T AzCentral
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via Conservative Tribune
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