Ousted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost his bid to have a jury decide whether he should be convicted of a criminal contempt-of-court charge for disobeying a court order in a racial profiling case.

The request came as Sheriff Joe Arpaio's 24-year tenure as sheriff is set to end Sunday.

Joe Arpaio's attorney filed court papers saying that an elected official's actions should be decided by an impartial jury of his peers, not a judge.

The longtime sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix has been formally charged with criminal contempt-of-court for ignoring a judge's order in a racial-profiling case.

Prosecutors said Tuesday they will charge Sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt-of-court for defying a judge's orders to end his signature immigration patrols in Arizona, exposing the 84-year-old lawman to the possibility of jail time and clouding his political future as he seeks a seventh term.

Officials voted Wednesday to pay $4.4 million in legal fees to attorneys who won a racial profiling case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, marking yet another expense in a case that's projected to cost taxpayers $72 million by next summer.

A Maricopa County Juvenile Court judge has found the Arizona Department of Child Safety in contempt for failing to provide needed services to a family.

A Democratic dark money group that ran $1.5 million in ads against Tom Horne in the waning days of the 2010 election must defend itself from accusations of contempt of court after refusing to comply with an order that it register with election officials and disclose its contributors.

The sheriff for metro Phoenix briefly took to the witness stand late Wednesday afternoon at contempt-of-court hearings over his acknowledged disobedience of a judge's orders in a racial profiling case.

Gov. Doug Ducey is not ready to put any distance between himself and Joe Arpaio. “Let’s see how the court hearing plays out,” the governor said in response to a question of whether he still supports the sheriff.