Sheriff Joe: Target Practice

Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper’s readers in October. Using secret grand jury subpoenas, County Attorney Andrew Thomas sought records that would reveal the identity of anyone who’d looked at New Times online in the past four years. When the paper’s leaders revealed the grand jury probe in a cover story, sheriff’s deputies arrested them.

The assault on New Times began in 2004 when the paper published Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s address as part of an investigation into his hidden commercial real estate transactions. Arpaio demanded that the newspaper be prosecuted under an arcane statute that makes it illegal to publish law enforcement officers’ addresses in cyberspace, even though that data is readily available on government Web sites and is perfectly legal to publish on newsprint.

Thomas responded by appointing a special prosecutor, who demanded not only the records and e-mails of the paper’s writers and editors — but also sought sensitive information on the Internet-viewing habits of our readers. On October 18, New Times published a cover story revealing the invasive subpoenas.

That story violated grand jury secrecy statutes, but the revelations in the article, compounded by the subsequent arrest of Village Voice Executive Editor Michael Lacey and CEO Jim Larkin, sparked public outrage. County Attorney Thomas fired the special prosecutor and dropped all charges. He also abandoned the Arpaio-inspired probe of the paper.

As the smoke began to clear, this newspaper began a series, “Target Practice.” The project sprang from a fundamental question: Why did law enforcement — the sheriff and the county attorney — believe they could force a newspaper to reveal the identities and habits of the publication’s readers?

Our investigation has made one thing clear: Maricopa County’s sheriff has a vivid history of ignoring the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He’s trampled the rights of prisoners, political enemies, and media critics. In partnership with the county attorney, the pair have expanded their enemies list to include the judiciary and immigrants. Private citizens and their Internet-viewing records were merely the latest victims in a long line.

"Target Practice” seeks to explain how we arrived at this moment.

• Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution

  Joe Arpaio, Andy Thomas and Dennis Wilenchik hit New Times with grand jury subpoenas

  By Michael Lacey, Jim Larkin
  October 18, 2007
  This newspaper and its editorial staff — both current and former — are the targets of unprecedented grand jury... More >>

• Who's Sorry Now?

  Andy Thomas eats crow to save his political career, but wants us to apologize to Sheriff Joe. Fat chance

  By Stephen Lemons
  October 25, 2007
  Looking pale and uncharacteristically gun-shy, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas approached the podium in his... More >>

• He Just Doesn't Get It

  Dennis Wilenchik issued hugely invasive subpoenas to New Times without grand jury review

  By Michael Lacey
  November 01, 2007
  Disgraced "special prosecutor" Dennis Wilenchik responded last week to critics with a talking-in-tongues defense... More >>

• Wilenchik's a Liar, and There's More

  Besides personally demanding our arrests, Andy Thomas' special prosecutor sought to bankrupt New Times over a misdemeanor and lock up our lawyers

  By Michael Lacey
  November 15, 2007
  Special Prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik sought to put this newspaper out of business by going after our financial... More >>

• Enemies List

  Paranoia aside, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas just may be targeting you

  By Sarah Fenske
  November 29, 2007
  Unless you live under a rock, you know Sheriff Joe Arpaio: He's the aging lawman with a doughy face you see on TV,... More >>

• Extraordinary Contempt

  A judge describes former Special Prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik’s actions against New Times as threatening to the average citizen

  By Michael Lacey
  November 29, 2007
  Judge Anna Baca delivered her stern rebuke in genteel tones. She described the abuses of the grand jury process committed... More >>

• Power Play

  County law enforcement's attack on the judiciary didn't work, but the war's far from over

  By Paul Rubin
  December 06, 2007
  Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper and its readers in October, going so... More >>

• Siege Mentality

  County Attorney Andrew Thomas is attempting to capitalize on a national trend by attacking local judges

  By Paul Rubin
  December 06, 2007
  Ruth McGregor, chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, says politicians and special interest groups are attacking the... More >>

• Information Blockade

  The sheriff's made a career of stonewalling critical media — the public's right to know be damned

  By Ray Stern
  December 13, 2007
  Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper and its readers in October, going so... More >>

• Inhumanity Has a Price

  Corpses, a flesh-eating virus, the most-sued sheriff in America. Lawsuits against Joe Arpaio have cost us $41 million, so far

  By John Dickerson
  December 20, 2007
  Maricopa County law enforcement violated the constitutional rights of this newspaper's readers in October. Using secret... More >>

• Dead End

  Beaten, hanged, strangled, and ignored, these men and a woman lost their lives in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's custody

  By John Dickerson
  December 20, 2007
  • On March 26, 1996, Jose Rodriquez, 39, died in a pool of his own vomit on a jail floor. His cries for help went... More >>

• Inmates' Rights Lawsuit Languishes

  The unresolved Hart vs. Hill suit was filed 30 years ago in federal court. It brings up the same jailhouse abuses that occur today

  By John Dickerson
  December 20, 2007
  The lawyer behind the arrests of New Times executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin is central in a seminal lawsuit... More >>

• Cyberspace Invaders

  County law enforcement's seeking more and more Web site information to mount investigations against private citizens

  By Bill Jensen
  December 20, 2007
  Maricopa County law enforcement officials are increasingly turning to the Internet to target private individuals they... More >>

• Flushing Them Out

  Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas are teaching the rest of the nation how to terrorize illegal immigrants

  By Megan Irwin
  December 27, 2007
  Daniela's world is very small. Though she was born in Mexico and traveled thousands of miles to Phoenix, she might never... More >>

• Alien Nation

  Anti-immigrant sentiments are nothing new in America

  By Megan Irwin
  December 27, 2007
  Though Arizona is considered ground zero for the current debate surrounding illegal immigration, this is not a new fight.... More >>

• Our Community Under Siege

  Where do we turn when law enforcement threatens citizens like a grim force of nature?

  By Michael Lacey
  December 27, 2007
  County Attorney Andrew Thomas has not issued a single grand jury subpoena in the wake of the fallout from my arrest and... More >>

• Dennis the Menace

  Arpaio's lawyer can't explain away his fudged résumé

  By Amy Silverman
  December 27, 2007
  On October 19, the day after New Times' owners were arrested, the county attorney very publicly fired special prosecutor... More >>

• Money Shot

  If Maricopa County supervisors wanted to go after Sheriff Joe Arpaio, they could. They could focus on his office's finances

  By Sarah Fenske
  December 27, 2007
  Sheriff Joe Arpaio has long maintained that he's accountable to the people — but the people's accountants are a... More >>

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