Judge Wants Monitor to Keep Sheriff Joe In Line

"America's toughest sheriff" is about to have someone to answer to. A federal judge yesterday ordered that an independent monitor be established to make sure that Sheriff Joe Arpaio wasn't using racial profiling as a basis for traffic stops, Reuters reports. In addition, when Arpaio's deputies pull someone over, they'll now have to tell dispatchers why they did so before approaching the car.

The orders spin out of a lawsuit brought by Hispanic drivers against the controversial Arizona lawman. The drivers argued that Arpaio and his men used race as a basis for traffic stops in an effort to catch illegal immigrants. The judge found in favor of the plaintiffs in May, and has now given them 60 days to agree with Arpaio on a choice of monitors. (More Joe Arpaio stories.)