Backpage.com
Backpage.com Publishers Release Statement About Upcoming Trial
The former owners of Backpage.com, veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, released an official statement two days before the controversial trial against them is scheduled to start in Arizona.
FBI: Taking Down Backpage.com 'Significantly' Damaged Trafficking Investigations
TKConfirming what the vast majority of sex workers and advocates had warned about in 2017 and 2018, the FBI told the Government Accountability Office that their “ability to identify and locate sex trafficking victims and perpetrators was significantly decreased following the takedown of Backpage.com.”
Backpage: Appeals Court Rejects Judge Recusal Over Husband's Activism
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected yesterday a petition by the defense of the former owners of Backpage.com that they order a recusal of Judge Susan Brnovich over a conflict of interest concerning her husband, Arizona Attorney General and anti-sex work activist Mark Brnovich.
Rep. Ro Khanna to Reintroduce Bill to Study FOSTA/SESTA Effects
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has announced he is planning to re-introduce a bill to study the effects that FOSTA-SESTA legislation has had on sex worker rights and issues.
Backpage: Appeals Court Validates Questions Raised by Defendants
In a procedural win for the former owners of adult classifieds website Backpage.com, a two-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered federal prosecutors to address the defense’s request for the judge overseeing the criminal trial to remove herself from it.
Backpage.com Trial: Defendants Ask Appeals Court to Remove Judge
Former Backpage owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday seeking an order to recuse the Phoenix federal judge presiding over their criminal trial.
Backpage.com Judge Refuses to Recuse Herself, Lacey Responds
Last Friday, the Phoenix federal judge presiding over the criminal trial against the former owners of Backpage.com issued a 14-page ruling that detailed her refusal to recuse herself from the case, following a motion by the defendants that revealed her husband’s explicit activism against them as part of a crusade alleging “human trafficking.”
Backpage.com Criminal Trial Once Again Postponed, to April 2021
The Arizona judge overseeing the criminal trial of the former Backpage.com owners has granted another motion by the defense to move the trial date, this time to April 2021, which will coincide with the third anniversary of Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin’s arrest and assets seizure.
Backpage Defense Asks Judge to Recuse Herself Over Husband's Propaganda Pamphlet
Lawyers for the former owners of adult classified website Backpage.com have requested that Judge Susan Brnovich recuse herself from their ongoing trial over public statements made by her husband, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a vocal activist against what he calls “human trafficking,” including a lurid pamphlet published by his office.
Backpage.com Criminal Trial Now Postponed Until Next Year
The Arizona judge overseeing the criminal trial of the former Backpage.com owners has granted a motion by the defense to move the trial date to January 2021, due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 health crisis in the state.
Appeals Court Sets Date Set for Backpage.com Oral Arguments
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled a date for oral arguments in the Backpage.com case, which are now set to occur remotely on August 11.
Backpage.com Trial Postponed to August 17
The "Backpage.com" trial, in which former owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin and others are accused by the government of a number of alleged crimes over their ownership of a popular adult-oriented classifieds website, has been postponed until August 17.
Judge Rejects Motion to Dismiss Backpage.com Case
U.S. District Court in Arizona Judge Susan Brnovich rejected today a Motion to Dismiss filed by the defense for the former owners of adult classifieds website Backpage.com, which was shuttered and seize by federal authorities who accuse the company of “participation in a conspiracy to facilitate and promote prostitution,” and also of money laundering, human trafficking and other charges.
Backpage Owners' Lawyers Argue for Access to Seized Servers
Last Friday, a pre-trial hearing was held in a Phoenix federal court regarding the ongoing government lawsuit against former Backpage owner Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin.
Reason: Memos Show Charges Against Backpage.com Were 'Bogus'
Reason magazine has just published two memos written by federal prosecutors that contradict the government’s allegation that Backpage’s business model included child prostitution and “sex trafficking.”
Appeals Court Returns Ongoing Backpage Case to District Court
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling yesterday sending back the Backpage case (known as “USA vs. Larkin” after Jim Larkin, former co-owner with Mike Lacey of the adult online classifieds website) to Judge R. Gary Klausner of the Central District of California.
Sentencing of Backpage Exec Turned Key Prosecution Witness Delayed
As proceedings against Backpage.com founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin continue unraveling in California courts, the sentencing of former associate Carl Ferrer, who is now cooperating with the government as a witness against them, has been delayed until July 2020.
Cambria: Government 'Not Effective' During Backpage Appeals Hearing
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today heard oral arguments from the appellants and the U.S. government regarding the shutting down of the Backpage.com classifieds website and the seizure of millions of dollars in assets.
Wired Magazine Unpacks Backpage.com Scandal
Wired has published an article offering an in-depth portrait of the founders of the notorious Backpage.com and their various business endeavors and legal entanglements prior to and including the 2018 indictment that led to their arrests.
Former Backpage Owners Claim to Be Victims of "Moral Panic" About Sex Work
Former Backpage owner Michael Lacey, who appeared alongside business partner Jim Larkin at a Libertarian gathering in Phoenix last Friday, claimed that the political/legal campaign to shut down the popular classifieds website was fueled by a "moral panic, based on a false premise [and it] has put sex workers in danger’s way.”