Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County won a lawsuit this week filed by former County Schools Superintendent Sandra Dowling over the 2005 raid of her home and subsequent prosecution.
Dowling launched the lawsuit in 2009, alleging she'd been the target of a conspiracy by Arpaio and members of the Board of Supervisors. We recently detailed aspects of the convoluted case in our feature story on the sex crimes uninvestigated by the Sheriff's Office.
As court records show, (see below), U.S. District Judge James Teilborg ruled that Dowling and her attorney, Mike Manning, failed to present enough evidence of their claims. They didn't show evidence that Arpaio didn't have probable cause to run the investigation and submit charges against her, Teilborg wrote.
The original case can't be considered much a victory for Arpaio: His
office helped get Dowling charged with 25 felonies, but she later
pleaded guilty to only one misdemeanor.
Manning says he'll likely appeal portions of the ruling.
Click here for a copy of Teilborg's ruling.
