U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton has ruled that former Maricopa County Sheriff and Fountain Hills resident Joe Arpaio is guilty of criminal contempt of court stemming from another federal judge’s 2011 order related to racial profiling by the Sheriff’s Office.

In her order issued on Monday, July 31, Bolton stated that Arpaio “willfully violated” the order from Judge Murray Snow. Snow ordered Arpaio to stop the practice by deputies of holding Hispanic motorists on suspicion they were in the country illegally.

Bolton wrote in her decision that evidence presented to her during the trial showed that Snow had issued a clear order barring MCSO deputies from holding people without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

Arpaio’s attorneys issued a statement Monday saying they would appeal Bolton’s ruling and ask for a jury trial, a request that had been previously rejected.

The statement from the law office of Wilenchik & Bartness and Goldman & Zwillinger said Bolton “violated the United States Constitution by issuing her verdict without even reading it to the defendant in public court.

“Her verdict is contrary to what every single witness testified in the case. Arpaio believes that a jury would have found in his favor, and that it will.”

Arpaio was first elected Sheriff of Maricopa County in 1992 and served 24 years before being defeated for re-election in 2016 by Paul Penzone.

Sheriff Penzone also issued a statement on the case from his office.

“Although the election in November was a statement by this community to put an end to the prior administration’s practices, the verdict today is a conclusion to the disservice and distractions caused by [Arpaio],” Penzone said. “We have a great respect for the justice system and the process and responsibility to carry out justice.

“We remain steadfast in our efforts to serve the needs of public safety, to improve quality of relations with the community.”

Sentencing for Arpaio is scheduled for Oct. 5. The maximum sentence for the misdemeanor charge is six months in jail.