SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An appeals court is considering a request by the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" to reverse a lower-court decision barring his deputies from detaining people based solely on the suspicion that they're illegal immigrants.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it would rule later after hearing Thursday from lawyers representing Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio (ahr-PEYE'-oh).
The ACLU alleges that Arpaio's deputies pulled over Hispanics without probable cause to make stops to inquire about their immigration status.
A judge barred Arpaio's deputies who are enforcing Arizona's immigrant smuggling law from detaining people based solely on the suspicion that they're illegal immigrants.
Arpaio's attorneys argued the ruling was flawed.
