U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa

In an order filed Thursday in federal court in Phoenix, U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa questioned whether veteran journalists and ex-Backpage owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin should be retried separately from their four co-defendants in the case. Humetewa’s…

handcuffs

In the two-week runup to Super Bowl LVII, more than 100 law enforcement officers from nearly 20 local, state and federal law agencies — including the FBI and  DHS — participated in a massive operation in Metro Phoenix ostensibly targeting…

In an eight-page order issued Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa dismissed concerns by the defendants in the Lacey/Larkin case that her connections to the late Sen. John McCain and the McCain Institute might trigger her recusal due to…

boxing

Update, Thursday, 9/9/2021: At the beginning of trial this morning, codefendant Andrew Padilla reported to the judge that he was not feeling well. In an abundance of caution, Judge Brnovich ordered that he have a rapid Covid test. Court was…

First Amendment

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 Act; money laundering; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and conspiracy to facilitate misdemeanor…

Richard Ruelas

In hindsight, I should not be surprised by “reporter” Richard Ruelas’ shameful steaming pile of a hit piece in the Arizona Republic yesterday. After all, the first thing the Republic lifer did when veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin…