Source?
This was a case where Sheriff Joe didn’t follow the instructions of the original
court case after it was decided. The Judge told him to cease and he didn’t. She
sentenced him to six months for not following court orders. He requested a jury
trial for this but was denied under AZ law.
I posted a couple links up thread which have some info on the event.
Among other things, the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has ruled on a number of occasions, most recently in a 1989 case Blanton v. City of North Las Vegas, that any criminal offense for which the maximum penalty is less than six months in prison is presumed to be a petty offense and the right of trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment does not apply. Arizona has modified that slightly, in Derendal v. Phoenix City Prosecutors Office for example, so that misdemeanor charges that would have warranted a jury trial before Arizona became a state would still require a jury. All other misdemeanor cases would be handled as bench trials. Arpiao's charges were misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of less than six months. Under those circumstances he was not entitled to a jury trial.