The claim that Joe Arpaio implicitly admitted guilt by accepting Trump’s pardon is junk. The proof people cite for this claim comes from dicta in a 1915 SCOTUS case. That is not binding law. Furthermore, the lower court prior to that ruling pointed out that there are a myriad of reasons why someone might accept a pardon. This was and is binding law because it is part of the reasoning for the ruling. Double furthermore, the US Attorney General’s office kept records for the reasons for pardons well after that 1915 case. Triple furthermore, there are federal laws that account for compensating people who are given pardons due to innocence. Quadruple furthermore, the 1915 case pre-dates Alford, which found that a defendant can explicitly maintain innocence while accepting a plea; the logic from Alford inherently says the use of something from the justice system is not an acceptance or blessing of that thing.
Joe Arpaio is a piece of shit and it’s garbage that Trump pardoned him, but the forced attempt at catharsis through a willful or ignorant misuse of a 100+ year old, irrelevant ruling is also shit and garbage. It’s shit and garbage all the way down.
Filed under: Politics and Social | Tagged: Donald Trump, Joe Arpaio, Pardon |
For the Sake of Science 
[…] In this post, I talked about the nonsense claims that said Joe Arpaio was accepting guilt by accepting his pardon. The case law supports exactly the opposite conclusion, and, ultimately, the issue isn’t settled law. But does that mean Joe Arpaio isn’t a racist piece of shit who knowingly broke a host of laws? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean my point wasn’t met (elsewhere) with accusations of supporting Arpaio and his shitty policies. […]