Sheriff Joe may eat his own green bologna

The words must have stung.

Get a defense attorney, a federal judge told four of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies Thursday afternoon. Arpaio had one sitting next to him.

U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow, in a series of hearings, has expressed displeasure with the sheriff's failure to comply with the judge's orders against racial profiling.

Arpaio hasn't hidden his displeasure with being called into court to explain his department's workings, and he really didn't like the idea of a court-appointed monitor looking over his shoulder.

But here's the thing. A federal judge's first responsibility is protecting equal treatment under the law. The evidence at trial convinced the judge that Arpaio's department targeted Latinos. Since then, additional evidence has emerged that the problem may have been more widespread.

The judge has been happy with this sequence of events. By Thursday, he was telling Arpaio he was inclined to hold the sheriff and his deputies in contempt. He set a court date of Jan. 8 for them to convince him otherwise.

Our colleague EJ Montini is fond of noting Arpaio's talent for creating publicity stunts to divert attention from his troubles. We may see a lot of them over the next two months.

Or maybe the sheriff will realize how serious this judge is. Maybe he'll start abiding by the court's order and root out racial profiling. Maybe the thought of facing green bologna will finally get the job done.