ACLU claims Arpaio violated rights of jail inmate
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.08.2008
PHOENIX — The American Civil Liberties Union wants Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio be held in contempt of court for violating a ruling regarding jail inmates' rights to be transported to clinics to have abortions.
According to a motion filed with Maricopa County Superior Court in May, an inmate identified as Mary Roe asked to be taken from jail to have an abortion and was told she needed to get a court order to do so.
However, a standing Superior Court injunction prohibits the Sheriff's Office from demanding such court orders. The injunction was based on an earlier case that Arpaio contested and lost.
Roe was able to get her abortion four weeks later, which the motion claims put her at added and unnecessary medical risk.
Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre said there was no denial for transport and the ACLU's motion is an attempt "to do a very late backstab to get Arpaio."
The 2005 injunction came out of a case in which an inmate identified as Jane Doe was serving time for a DUI conviction and asked to be taken to an abortion clinic.
She was forced to get a court order to do so, and the ACLU then filed suit to ensure that other women would not have to undergo similar delays.
At the time, Arpaio said he did not run a taxi service for women who wanted elective surgery.
The court did not agree and issued the injunction, saying that forcing the inmates to get a court order was tantamount to making women jump through hoops to obtain a constitutional right. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in 2007.
Arpaio then took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court and was denied a hearing.



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