As he seeks a seventh term in office, the sheriff of metro Phoenix faces the prospect of greater oversight of his agency from a judge who ruled that the lawman has disobeyed his orders in a racial profiling case.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio was found to be in civil contempt of court for violating court orders, such as letting his officers conduct immigration patrols 18 months after the judge barred them. The decision brings Arpaio one step closer to a possible criminal contempt case that could expose him to fines and even jail time.

The sheriff was put under court supervision after the judge ruled nearly three years ago that Arpaio's officers had profiled Latinos. In response, the judge imposed an overhaul on the agency, including giving officers training on how to conduct constitutional traffic stops.

U.S. District Judge Murray Snow is now considering whether to invalidate several internal investigations into alleged wrongdoing and mismanagement by sheriff's employees and get an independent investigator to re-examine the allegations.

The contempt ruling on Friday said Arpaio deliberately misstated facts last year when he denied in court that he had conducted an investigation of the judge.