At the Backpage trial in Phoenix’s federal court on Tuesday, prosecutors continued to introduce prejudicial material into the trial involving sex trafficking and child sex trafficking, drawing yet another mistrial motion from defense attorneys. It was the defense’s fourth mistrial…
In a recent column, longtime Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini cited a 2021 report from the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office (GAO), which found that the 2018 takedown of Backpage had the opposite of its intended effect: it made it more…
On Tuesday, Sept. 12 in Phoenix’s federal court, Carl Ferrer, the government’s lead witness in the Backpage trial, followed the prosecution’s playbook to a T, testifying that nearly everything the classified listings site did in its 14-year history knowingly facilitated…
In a motion filed Thursday in federal court in Phoenix, government attorneys have — for the second time — asked federal Judge Diane Humetewa to exclude any mention of the First Amendment in front of the jury during the Backpage…
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…
During opening arguments on Thursday in the Backpage trial in Phoenix, Michael Lacey’s attorney, Paul Cambria, rebutted allegations made by federal prosecutors that Lacey “facilitated” misdemeanor prostitution offenses because he once co-owned the classified listings site, Backpage.com. “Sex for money…
We are journalists, editors, artists, and public servants who support veteran newspaperman Michael Lacey in his First Amendment fight with the federal government. On July 31, 2023, Lacey’s longtime business partner, veteran newspaperman James Larkin, died tragically one week before…
The reality of veteran newspaperman Jim Larkin’s untimely demise on July 31 at age 74 has begun to sink in, with remembrances, articles, and commentary appearing on social media and legacy media alike. His death came close to the start…
The following report contains opinion and analysis that is the author’s alone. In an order issued on Monday, July 24, federal Judge Diane Humetewa in Phoenix granted prosecutors significant wins on a series of motions affecting the retrial of veteran…
On July 7, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit shot down a constitutional challenge to one of the most dangerous laws passed by Congress in recent memory: the 2018 Fight Online Sex…
