Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. v. Joe Arpaio

Abstract

John Noonan’s jurisprudence, it has been written, depends upon the formation of an empathic bond between judge and litigant. This paper is intended as an exploration of how Noonan’s jurisprudence functions in practice. Over the course of three decades on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, Judge Noonan established himself as one of America’s most original, insightful, and genuinely empathetic judges. While hundreds of his judicial opinions might have been chosen for this investigation, I have selected only a single one. The case to be examined is Wagner v. County of Maricopa, involving a wrongful death action and civil rights claims brought against the County and its Sheriff, Joe Arpaio.