Note: the following expresses the opinions of Stephen Lemons and no one else. The Backpage trial nearly jumped the tracks on Thursday in Phoenix’s federal court after the defense called twice for a mistrial, only to be denied each time…
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…
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…
On Friday, at the final pretrial hearing in the Backpage case, federal Judge Diane Humetewa in Phoenix shot down a defense suggestion that the prosecution not use the terms “sex trafficking” and “child sex trafficking” during the Aug. 29 trial…
The U.S. Department of Justice’s duplicity knows no bounds when it comes to the prosecution of veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin under the U.S. Travel Act, a Kennedy-era law intended to target organized crime. Case in point: the…
Will Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich be sending a couple of goons to Menlo Park to slap the cuffs on Mark Zuckerberg and drag the pasty-faced Facebook czar back to Phoenix for arraignment? Hey, never put anything past a politician…
PLEASE ALSO READ: A STATEMENT FROM LACEY AND LARKIN ON THEIR 2021 TRIAL MAJOR POINTS Michael Lacey, Jim Larkin and four codefendants currently face 100 counts including the following: facilitating misdemeanor state prostitution offenses in violation of the U.S. Travel…
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) — which covers Manhattan and is arguably the most prestigious prosecutor’s office in the nation — recently got caught with its britches down, first trying to “bury” exculpatory…
