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A court-appointed monitor has determined that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has regressed in its compliance with the reforms mandated in a racial profiling class-action lawsuit and settlement. Jesse Rieser for ProPublica Arizona’s largest sheriff’s department is losing ground in its effort to comply with court-mandated reforms tied to a long-running racial profiling lawsuit and settlement, a monitor has found. An investigation launched last year by the monitor’s team and published this month alleges a “disturbing pattern” of violations of department policy and court orders that undermined efforts to investigate misconduct and root out racial profiling in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The findings echo allegations from a decade ago that led to contempt charges against sheriff’s office leaders. The monitor’s investigation follows an analysis by Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that found ongoing racial disparities in traffic stops by the sheriff’s office, ...

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has argued that out-of-state special interests are influencing constitutional amendments, while doing just that with his own push to eliminate the state income tax. Kansas City Star/Getty Images Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has spent months telling voters that the state constitution is under threat from “ out-of-state special interests ” using ballot initiatives to bypass the Republican-controlled legislature and enact major policy changes. The measures have included legalizing recreational marijuana , expanding Medicaid and restoring abortion rights .  That argument is at the center of Kehoe’s support for Amendment 4, a measure in the Aug. 4 primary that would make it harder for Missourians to amend their constitution through citizen-led ballot initiatives. “Our constitution shouldn’t be the victim of out-of-state special interests who spend millions to deceive voters and pass out-of-touch policies,” Kehoe said in a video posted to the social ...