A Maricopa County judge recently dismissed a lawsuit Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed against the Board of Supervisors related to the jails' health care system:

Arpaio sued the county Board of Supervisors and county administrators last year, saying they mismanaged the agency. County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig granted the county's motion to dismiss Monday. Arpaio said he plans to appeal the decision and take the fight to federal court.

According to the Phoenix New Times, the judge's move may have saved the county more than $100,000:

Oberbillig's ruling, which he announced to the parties involved after oral arguments this afternoon, was a "judgment on the pleadings" -- meaning the judge was able to toss out the suit without any information other than the sheriff's complaint and the county's response.

Which, of course, means less cost to us taxpayers. Yay!

That doesn't mean it wasn't a huge waste of money. The judge's quick decision, says Wade Swanson, the county's general counsel, means that legal fees will run to "tens of thousands of dollars instead of hundreds of thousands of dollars." But hey... considering what this stuff usually costs, we'll take it.