By Staff Reporter |

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) introduced legislation this week to create stronger rules on court-ordered federal oversight of police. 

The proposed bill is a direct response to the ongoing monitorship of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), which began well over a decade ago following racial profiling allegations under the administration of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. 

Biggs’ Monitor Accountability Act would further limit federal district courts’ discretion on monitor selection and duration.

The bill as written would limit monitors to five years of service, prohibit courts from reappointing the same monitors under the same court order, prohibit monitors from coming from the same law firm or employer, cap monitor compensation and encourage courts to require pro bono or reduced-cost work, require public comment on proposed monitors prior to court appointment, limit extensions of monitorship to those without substantial and sustained compliance, and require case reassignment to a different judge after six years. 

Additionally, the Monitor Accountability Act would apply retroactively to monitorships older than six years. This would ensure Maricopa County — Biggs’ impetus for the bill — secures a new monitor and judge. 

The costs associated with the monitorship have neared $350 million according to Biggs and the county, about a tenth of which has gone to the court-appointed monitor and his firm. Proponents of continued monitorship counter that the actual cost of the monitorship amounts closer to $60 million. 

Biggs, who is running to unseat Gov. Katie Hobbs this November, released a statement claiming that the MCSO monitorship, among others, has become exploitative. 

“The federal monitor’s continued existence in our county and propensity for moving the goalposts from his original charge only serves to exploit taxpayers and undermine the brave work of the men and women who serve our communities — and this is only one of dozens of similar arrangements across the country,” said Biggs. “It’s time for Congress to take back the reins from rogue judges and monitors who have exceeded appropriate bounds.”

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels joined Biggs’ statement with support for the bill as a corrective measure to prevent further exploitation of the monitor system. 

“We’ve seen this problem first-hand in Arizona: Maricopa County has been the victim of a rogue monitor for more than 13 years, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and shifting resources away from keeping the community safe,” said Dannels. 

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors filed a motion to end the monitorship last December, and in February testified to a House Judiciary Committee hearing on their effort in court. Biggs led that subcommittee hearing. 

The board has pleaded for relief from what it claims to be indefinite taxpayer spending to keep up with ever-moving goalposts.

The Goldwater Institute has also requested the court to publicize the invoices associated with MCSO’s monitorship. 

“[T]he government should not be allowed to keep such information secret unless there’s good reason, and even then, they’re required to specify what those reasons are,” stated the organization’s vice president of legal affairs, Timothy Sandefur. 

The Department of Justice, who initially filed the lawsuit under former President Barack Obama along with the ACLU, signaled support for an end to MCSO’s monitorship.

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