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Craigslist Shielded From Prosecution In SC
viyh writes with an update to the ongoing legal troubles faced by Craigslist over their adult-services ads. According to CNN, a South Carolina judge has told the office of the state's Attorney General, Henry McMaster, to cease their efforts to bring criminal charges against the operators of Craigslist.
"On Friday, Judge Weston Houck granted Craigslist's request for a temporary restraining order preventing McMaster and his employees from 'initiating or pursuing [any] prosecution against Craigslist or its officers and employees in relation to content posted by third parties on Craigslist's Web site' until the court rules on the merits of the site's lawsuit. Craigslist's lawsuit cites an interview McMaster gave to Fox News on Monday, in which he likened the site 'to a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it especially after having been told.'"
Are people on these adult sites asking for money in their personal ads?
How exactly do you think this is corruption? Craigslist got a preliminary injunction because of their pending lawsuit claiming that the state's prosecution is a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
I'm a lawyer, but not yours. I wouldn't represent someone who thinks taking legal advice from Slashdot is a good idea.
With the sheer volume of ads on craigslist, how can anybody expect them to moderate everything on there. Isn't it easier and far more just for craigslist to take a neutural stance and let the justice system do it's job on a neutural basis. It's my understanding anyway that service providers are not responsible of the content of their websites anyway if they do not provide content under the safe harbor provisions of the communications decency act. Craigslist has already been granted immunity for hosting descriminatory housing ads. I'd be willing to bet they can get out of this too using the same legislation.
If Henry McMaster liken Craigslist to a hotel with ho's then what was he doing there? Henry McMaster may find his stuff listed on Craigslist soon.
No matter how other people said,all of people Should be determined by law,People is not laws!! http://www.nowgoal.com/17.shtml
'Corruption'?
You've got that backwards - this is a clear and wonderful example of a judge /doing the job of a judge/.
in which [McMaster] likened the site "to a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it especially after having been told."
Yet McMaster and (most) other politicians have been whoring themselves to corporate and special interest lobbyists since time immemorial. Not only do the "owners" of the house know this, everyone knows this, and there's actual public demand for this to stop.
When will McMaster do something about that?
I see that New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just indicted 7 people for running a prostitution ring on Craigslist. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/20/craigslist.prostitution/index.html
The last New York State Attorney General to indict people on prostitution charges was Elliot Spitzer.
Just saying.
Going after Craig'sList is a way for politicians and police to appear to be doing something so that people don't notice that they are not doing their jobs. If I was an officer of the law and I wanted to stop prostitution, I'd start contacting every advertiser in the erotic services section and arrange a meeting. Go to the meeting, arrest them.
more cowbell
Since when do judges get to decide who can be prosecuted?
Since when do pilots get to fly planes?
Since when to mechanics get to fix cars?
Who, pray tell, do you believe is supposed to judge who has a valid case or not? What would you call the person who you have the job of making that judgement?
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
"in which he likened the site 'to a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it especially after having been told."
Yes, a hotel with 100,000,000 rooms. Brilliant analogy.
This is a perfect opportunity for law enforcement to USE CRAIGSLIST TO BUST THESE PEOPLE. Don't shut it down -- use it to your advantage! These 'criminals' will just go elsewhere and shutting down Craigslist is as effective as shutting down Pacific Blvd. after 9PM... In other words: ineffectual
Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
With the sheer volume of ads on craigslist, how can anybody expect them to moderate everything on there.
This isn't moderation. CL has a specific section dedicated to "erotic services", an illegal activity in the United States and much of the world. That's a)recognition of an illegal activity and b)catering one's services to it.
For those of you who think we should regulate prostitution, go read the Wikipedia article about Amsterdam and prostitution. It's a cesspool of human trafficking from 2nd/3rd world countries- tantamount to slavery.
Please help metamoderate.
I strongly suspect the original poster is thinking of a grand jury's job to determine whether evidence is sufficient to justify prosecution, so he has a point. In this case, the judge is looking much more at questions of law and not so much at questions of fact. Nobody (to my admittedly limited knowledge), is claiming that its not a fact sex industry people are advertising on Craigslist. There may be some legitimate issues over how many, what portion of the services advertised actually count as prostitution, what steps Craigslist is taking and other such facts, but what the judge is dealing with is a matter of what the law itself says, not the specific facts. (And yes, that's appropriate for a judge).
Who is John Cabal?
...do you actually understand what job somebody given the position 'judge' does?
The Yasashii Syndicate ||
What gets me on this is that there's obvious prostitution ads in my local newspaper. And there's even publications that consist of nothing but "escort services" that are sold in vending machines across the country just like newspapers.
And here I thought Craigslist was just a website! I'll have to find out where my local Craigslist flea market is, and what its hours are.
With all the battles that need to be fought to make our world a better place, battling against Craigslist seems pretty far down on the list of priorities. I know it'd be a nice, high-profile feather in a prosecutor's cap and all but, seriously, it would be nice if tax payer's dollars were spent on worthy causes first before people try to pad their resume.
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster says Craigslist deserves to be prosecuted because the site is like "...a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it, especially after having been told."
Perhaps Mr. McMaster himself should be prosecuted. Prostitutes openly flaunt their wares on the streets of every major city in his state, yet McMaster has failed to limit their activities in any meaningful way. If he put half the time and effort into cleaning up South Carolina's sin-soaked streets as he has attempting to prosecute a glorified Want Ads site, perhaps that situation could be improved.
Of course, that might involve busting a few familiar faces (cough Spitzer cough).
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Corruption?!? A declaratory judgment action is actually an essential legal right.
http://www.nolo.com/definition.cfm/Term/ED8E9D0B-38C9-4D40-ADC1E5392D91A929/alpha/D/
The prosecutor has threatened to bring charges against Craigslist. Why should Craigslist have to wait for the Attorney General to decide to bring charges. He could keep making threats without bringing any charges as long as he wants. These threats cast a cloud over Craigslist, so they have the right to have the issue resolved, i.e., have the court determine whether Craigslist is protected by the first or fourteenth amendment.
An Attorney General can and should bring charges against whomever he or she wants. What an Attorney General should not be allowed to do is make public threats against an individual or a corporation.
Grand Juries are only involved in certain cases and jurisdictions.
Since when do judges get to decide who can be prosecuted? The case may be unfounded, but this complete corruption of the legal system is rediculous.
Your spelling abilities are ridiculous.
"Craigslist's lawsuit cites an interview McMaster gave to Fox News on Monday, in which he likened the site 'to a hotel or motel owner that knows prostitution is going on on their premises and fails to do anything about it especially after having been told."
Or like the local vice cop/Drug Task Force detective/cointelpro operative for the local gentry who lets the whores ply their trade at the motel in exchange for setting up, for politically and/or economically convenient drug busts, the clueless johns, or errant dealers who've crossed one of the local distributors (say, the one whose wife who has a nice sinecure at city hall), in exchange for leniency in their cases, if they'll narc on others, or sometimes for other considerations which shall remain unspecified here?
Nah, such things don't happen in S.C. or neighboring states, not with such stalwart defenders of justice like Hank in charge.
Whores are incredibly useful people to know, sometimes. Make you want to just tear your hair out, others, like when trying to get one anywhere a witness stand, but I digress. Thank goodness for tape recorders, though.
the title as:
"Craigslist Shielded from Prostitution in SC"?
Judges only decide on the cases brought before them, they don't decide who gets brought before them.
Similarly, pilots only fly planes they are assigned to, they usually don't get to decide which particular flights and routes they get to fly.
Also, mechanics only fix cars brought to the shop, they don't decide for people which cars to bring to the shop.
Er, since there have been judges and courts?
Can you read? Do you understand how the courts work?
Judges can issue temporary injunctions against -anybody-. If they are unfounded, all the AG has to do is talk to another judge to get it removed. That doesn't work if the injunction is issued for legitimate reasons, because judge #2 will just say "Looks like they did the right thing to me, better just wait it out".
In this case, Craigslist has a pending lawsuit against the SC AG in its initial stages. The SC AG has been threatening Craigslist with prosecution for months. Without an injunction, the AG could prosecute in the middle of the Craigslist lawsuit, which would stop the lawsuit in its tracks withough going through the legal process. Also, the AG being able to prosecute mid-lawsuit is a clear conflict of interest. The lawsuit needs to be settled first, otherwise any criminal charges will be greatly suspect.
To prevent this potential abuse of the court system, CL asked a judge to issue an injunction against prosecution by the AG until their lawsuit is decided. The judge agreed.
This does NOT mean the AG doesn't get to prosecute, or the AG doesn't get to decide who it prosecutes. What it means is that, should the AG wish to make good on its threats, it can't prosecute Craigslist until their lawsuit has been decided.
This is WELL within the Judiciary's power, and it happens all the time when two cases conflict, or there is potential for one case to influence the outcome of another.
Seriously, it's a good idea to at least know a tiny bit about the subject before you speak. What's the old saying? Better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Very applicable here.
Security is mostly a superstition... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. - Helen Keller
How exactly is it even relevant if they are similar to hotel that knows that prostitution goes in it? Can a hotel be expected to refuse services to clients who are known prostitutes? Can it be illegal for a hotel to act otherwise? Doesn't it boil down to refusing service to a person because of previous criminal acts? Can the law really require a private business to refuse service to past criminals because they are likely (but not guaranteed) to use the business' services to repeat the criminal activity? When did we all become employees of the police? The last I checked their job is stopping crime -- not arresting anyone else who didn't stop crime.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Grand Juries are only involved in certain cases and jurisdictions.
O Rly?
Fifth Amendment - Rights of Persons
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
But in this case this order stems from a lawsuit from Craigslist and not a criminal charge brought forth from the AG.
And it should be added; half of this (and other amendments) have been destroyed by the US Supreme Court.
Get your Unix fortune now!
"Who, pray tell, do you believe is supposed to judge who has a valid case or not? What would you call the person who you have the job of making that judgement?"
People who think TV shows like CSI and Bones are a representation of the real world are unaware of things called "judges" and "due process" and hell even court rooms and other such boring tedium. They suffer the delusion that real world police departments have quirky, supremely arrogant yet infinitely knowledgeable individuals who have access to multi-million dollar cutting edge technology and are super human enough to be investigator, judge *and* jury without prejudice - despite their supreme arrogance.
A huge number of peoples real world idea of the whole police process is completely formed by these ridiculously unrealistic TV shows, shows where the respective police departments are operating more in the way that police departments operate in Latin America and various SE Asian countries; without any external bounds at all.
Simply put some (many) people can't separate entertainment from reality which I would gamble is why the parent innocently demands to know why the process isn't being followed. Unfortunately the process as he understands it, is a mish-mash of complete works of fiction and probably a single 7th grade civics class.
Since when do judges get to decide who can be prosecuted? The case may be unfounded, but this complete corruption of the legal system is rediculous.
Woah there skippy, put down the crack pipe for a sec..
The judge didn't decide who gets prosecuted. Come back to the same story the rest of us are on.
Some idiot lawmakers who are going to be out of office soon, are putting in their final abuses of the legal system before they end up old and alone in a rest home somewhere.
Craigslist validly pointed out this is goes against the 1st, and the 14th amendments...
The judge just said 'woah, your right, hold up lets look at this a little closer before being rash'
So what you're saying is that the fifth amendment provides a Grand Jury for certain cases and jurisdiction?
Yes, Rly.
First: The grand jury clause in the 5th amendment hasn't been incorporated under the 14th, which means that there hasn't been a ruling that makes the states bound by it.
Second: From what I can gather from skimming the SC Penal code the craigslist charges (assuming that minors wern't involved) would be Class C misdemeanors, which don't need indictments.