Court upholds findings of racial profiling by sheriff

PHOENIX (AP) - An appeals court has upheld key findings in a judge's 2013 ruling that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office had racially profiled Latinos, but the court also reined in a court-appointed official who is investigating misconduct at the agency.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday upheld District Judge Murray Snow's ruling that unconstitutional practices by Arpaio's office extended lengthy of traffic stops. The court also affirmed remedies the judge imposed to address the profiling violations.

But the appeals court said Snow's requirement that the court-appointed monitor consider internal investigations and reports of officer misconduct created a problem by being unrelated to the constitutional violations found by Snow.

Arpaio isn't contesting Snow's ruling on the sweeps. Instead, the sheriff was appealing the judge's conclusions on only regular traffic patrols.