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  3. Arizona “no bail for illegals” law struck down

Arizona “no bail for illegals” law struck down

Nov 19, 2014 | Bail, Undocumented aliens

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Last week the United States Supreme Court refused to issue a stay of a lower court ruling that struck down a 2006 Arizona law denying bail to undocumented immigrants charged with a variety of felonies. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is livid over this turn of events, as is County Attorney Bill Montgomery. They can’t understand how the Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could interfere with the state’s interest in stopping people from “skipping bail and endangering the community.”

Apparently, the law enforcement community here believes that when it comes to undocumented aliens, the laws that protect us against abuse by the state simply don’t apply. We have previously explored in our blog the results of type of thinking . You’d think, listening to the spin placed by the Sheriff’s Office on the issue, that if only we could throw all the illegals into jail (without a trial) and throw away the key, everything in Arizona would be hunky dory. That’s right, we’re saying that immigration has become the scapegoat for much of what many believe are the ills of our society.

The solution in this case – denying bail to illegals charged with a variety of felonies, including not only sexual assault, but also theft (including shoplifting), aggravated DUI, and others – was found by the Ninth Circuit last week to be a violation of due process. The court also took issue with the claim by the state that the issue supposedly being addressed by the law (“no shows”) was a particularly critical problem. Last week the Supreme Court refused to issue a stay of the appeals court ruling, paving the way to bail hearings for hundreds of undocumented immigrants being held under the now-defunct law.

Some of those in favor of the law would have you believe that the result of the decision is that illegal aliens charged with serious crimes are now free to roam the streets and kill, maim and rape again. These are just scare tactics. What the decision does is merely require that the factors applicable in granting (or not granting) bail, and the amount of that bail, apply to undocumented immigrants just as they do to the rest of us.

Law Offices of David A. Black
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