Arizona Republic:  “A federal judge issued a ruling Friday

Arizona Republic:  “Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres wasn’t the first person to accuse the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office of racial profiling, but the legal resident’s lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office was among the first legal challenges to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement tactics.  The 4-year-old case today will go before a U.S. District Court judge, who could determine whether the case will move forward.  Since Ortega Melendres filed his lawsuit in December 2007, four other plaintiffs have joined the case”

Arizona Republic:  Miriam Mendiola-Martinez “sued the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and others claiming that county employees exhibited deliberate indifference to her medical needs and violated her constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment when they kept her shackled before and after her 2009 Caesarean section.  The lawsuit, as support for the woman’s claims, cites a recently released Justice Department report accusing the Sheriff’s Office of discrimination and Maricopa County’s struggles with maintaining accreditation in its jail health-care facilities.”

Arizona Republic:  “A Maricopa County jury this week awarded $12 million to a Scottsdale cosmetic surgeon and his physician wife after a local jazz singer posted critical Internet reviews of their practice and aired multiple complaints with the Arizona Medical Board.  Dr. Albert Carlotti and Dr. Michelle Cabret-Carlotti, who operate Desert Palm Surgical Group, were awarded $11 million in actual damages and $1 million in punitive damages on Wednesday after a jury trial over allegations that they were defamed and portrayed in a false light.”

Arizona Republic:  “A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has imposed financial sanctions against a Phoenix law firm that represented Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas in legal disputes with the county’s governing board, judges and others.  Judge John Buttrick ordered the sanctions earlier this week against Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. for failing to appear for depositions and for failing to produce to the county its file for the legal advice that it performed for the county’s Air Quality Department.”