Jim Larkin (publisher)

James "Jim" Anthony Larkin
Born(1949-06-16)June 16, 1949
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedJuly 31, 2023(2023-07-31) (aged 74)
Superior, Arizona, U.S.
OccupationPublisher/Journalist
Known forChairman/CEO of Village Voice Media (VVM)

James Anthony Larkin (June 16, 1949 – July 31, 2023) was an American publisher and journalist in Phoenix, Arizona, known for his influence in the alternative newspaper industry. He was largely responsible, along with business partner Michael Lacey, for his work with the Phoenix New Times,[1] also known as New Times Inc.

With Larkin in charge of the business side and Lacey in charge of editorial, the two men expanded what had been a small, college-based publication into an industry giant to the value of $400 million.[2]

Lacey and Larkin sold VVM in 2012 to long-time company executives, and the company was renamed Voice Media Group (VMG).[3] Lacey and Larkin retained control of the classified ad site Backpage, which they co-founded in 2004 with ad exec Carl Ferrer as a competitor to Craigslist. Ferrer purchased Backpage in 2015 from Lacey and Larkin in a seller-financed deal.[4] By that time, Backpage was under constant fire from state Attorneys General and various NGOs for listings appearing in its adult ad section. Critics accused Backpage of promoting prostitution and sex trafficking through its "adult" section, though the ads in the section had been found by several federal and state courts to be protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and the First Amendment.[5]

Backpage closed its adult ad section in January 2017 on the eve of a federal hearing into its practices. The U.S. Department of Justice later convened a federal grand jury to investigate the company and in April 2018, the FBI arrested Larkin, Lacey and several others on charges of facilitating prostitution, money laundering, and conspiracy, with Ferrer turning state's evidence and promising to testify against his former employers in exchange for leniency.[4]

Larkin, Lacey, and four others pleaded not guilty to all charges in the indictment—100 total,[6] with each defendant being charged with different counts. The FBI also seized Backpage, removing it permanently from the internet.[7] The trial for Larkin and his co-defendants began September 1, 2021, in federal court in Phoenix before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Brnovich,[8] an appointee of President Donald Trump[9] and the wife of Backpage critic, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich,[10] a Republican who ran to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Kelly in 2022.[11]

On September 14, Brnovich granted a defense motion for mistrial, "after deciding prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge," according to the Associated Press.[12] Brnovich said she had given prosecutors "leeway" to discuss sex trafficking as long as they did not linger on the details, but the government "abused that leeway."

Brnovich scheduled a new trial for February 2022.[13] She recused herself without explanation in October 2021 and was replaced by federal Judge Diane Humetewa, a long-time ally of former U.S. Sen. John McCain.[14] Lacey and Larkin claim McCain and his wife Cindy had driven the federal prosecution, saying it was payback for the days when their papers criticized McCain.[15]

In December, Humetewa denied a defense motion to dismiss the case for double jeopardy, and a new trial is now on hold while the defendants appeal her ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.[16]

On September 21, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the defendants' request that the court reverses Humetewa and dismiss the case because a new trial would violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on Double Jeopardy.[17] The panel wrote that "the government’s misconduct" during the trial "was not so egregious as to compel a finding" that prosecutors intended to provoke a mistrial, the legal standard for dismissal in this instance.[18] A new trial was scheduled for August 8, 2023, but he committed suicide on July 31, at the age of 74.[19] Judge Humetewa rescheduled the trial for August 29.[20]

  1. ^ "History of New Times, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  2. ^ "The Village Voice, Pushing 50, Prepares to Be Sold to a Chain of Weeklies - The New York Times". The New York Times. 2015-11-12. Archived from the original on 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  3. ^ "Village Voice Media Execs Acquire The Company's Famed Alt Weeklies, Form New Holding Company". TechCrunch. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  4. ^ a b "The Senate Accused Them of Selling Kids for Sex. The FBI Raided Their Homes. Backpage.com's Founders Speak for the First Time". Reason.com. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  5. ^ Biederman, Christine (June 18, 2019). "Inside Backpage's Vicious Battle with the Feds". WIRED.
  6. ^ "Indictment levels new charges against Backpage.com officials". ABC News. 2018-07-28. Archived from the original on 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  7. ^ Bhardwaj, Prachi. "Online advertising site Backpage.com was seized by the FBI". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  8. ^ Shugerman, Emily (2021-09-01). "Backpage Kingpins Go on Trial—and Sex Workers May Pay the Price". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  9. ^ "History of the Federal Judiciary, Judges: Brnovich, Susan Marie". Federal Judicial Center.
  10. ^ "Backpage Judge Accused of Bias Will Remain on Case". Reason.com. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  11. ^ "Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich launches bid to unseat Sen. Mark Kelly". NBC News. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  12. ^ "Judge declares mistrial at trial of Backpage.com founders". AP NEWS. 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  13. ^ "New trial set for Backpage founders after recent mistrial". AP NEWS. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  14. ^ "Diane Humetewa: John McCain was a leading voice for Indian Country". Indianz. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  15. ^ Ruelas, Richard. "Backpage co-founders say prostitution charges politically motivated, stem from their journalism at New Times". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  16. ^ "Maggy Krell Repackages Her Bogus Backpage Prosecution Into a Book". Reason.com. 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  17. ^ Brown, Elizabeth Nolan (2022-09-22). "Retrial of Backpage execs wouldn't be double jeopardy, court says". Reason.com. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  18. ^ "U.S. v. Lacey, et al.: Memorandum Decision" (PDF). Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :"win" was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Duhownik, Joe (August 4, 2023). "Trial Over Backpage Prostitution Accusations Delayed to Late August". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved August 19, 2023.