The following contains the analysis and opinions of the author. The author does not speak for the defendants in the Backpage appeal. Briefs seeking to overturn the convictions of three ex-owners of the erstwhile classified listings giant, Backpage.com, describe a…
Over the Labor Day weekend, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced that it will hear oral arguments on Nov. 16 in Phoenix concerning one of the most significant First Amendment cases in recent memory —…
Former Phoenix Police Chief Ruben Ortega passed away on June 8th. He was 86. I do not hear the rousing skirl of bagpipes when I consider his death. Instead, I hear Clarence Darrow: “I have never killed anyone, but I…
UPDATE April 18, 2024: Judge Humetewa has pushed back the sentencing date for the three Backpage defendants. Journalist Michael Lacey will be sentenced June 17, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. John Brunst will be sentenced the same day at 9:30 a.m….
Note: Some of the following content was repurposed from live reports from the courthouse. For regular updates during breaks in the proceedings, follow @stephenlemons on Twitter/X. The defense in the Backpage trial called its first witness on Tuesday in Phoenix’s…
Ex-Backpage owner Carl Ferrer’s testimony continued in Phoenix’s federal courthouse on Sept. 13, as did the government’s misinformation, half-truths, spin, and bad faith regarding its number one target: veteran newspaperman Michael Lacey, who co-owned the classified listings site Backpage.com from…
Update, Thursday, Sept. 7: The Backpage trial will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 12, per an order today from the federal court in Phoenix. The court further ordered: ORDER as to Michael Lacey, et al., IT IS ORDERED that upon notice…
See judge’s order, here: Journalists Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin tell a federal judge that they do not oppose severing their retrial in Phoenix from four co-defendants, with some caveats, while prosecutors oppose the idea. Responding to a recent inquiry…
On April 6, 2018, the U.S. government set a disturbing precedent in the annals of modern censorship by arresting award-winning newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin and taking down Backpage.com, a classified ads site that reportedly served almost 1,000 cities…
The most dangerous place in the world for a hypocrite or any other kind of phony is in Elizabeth Nolan Brown‘s sights. A senior editor at the libertarian magazine Reason, Brown vivisects bad ideas and politicians like a coroner on crack….
