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back to article Judge shoots down challenge to Craigslist erotic services

A federal judge has summarily dismissed a lawsuit Chicago's sheriff brought against Craigslist, ruling that the website can't be sued for prostitution ads posted by its users. The decision is a blow to Thomas Dart, the sheriff of Illinois's Cook County, who argued the erotic services section of Craigslist violated prostitution …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    a bit supirsed

    Honestly, I'm a bit suprised that athey sued for costs, since I am certain that it's easier to find suspects using an ad and following the trail than hitting the streets and hoping to catch someone in the act, as it were.

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  2. Graham Marsden
    Thumb Up

    Congratulations to John F. Grady!

    It's good to see that there are US Judges who still believe in their Constitutional right to freedom of speech!

    We could do with more Judges like that in the UK.

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  3. Gaetan 1
    Thumb Down

    What would John F. Grady do ...

    ... if someone were to publish on Craiglist the address and other menu details related to judge Grady. I bet that it would take only a few hours before Craiglist would be forces to take down the information or else. Judges have their own agenda.

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  4. tuna 1
    Paris Hilton

    Good Reading!

    I hope all the lovely 21yo honeys' who want to meet me tonight, return en masse! Granted, one look at the mugshots on The Smoking Gun will ruin the fantasy, but that's why it's called a "fantasy". Maybe TSG should be hit with a cease&desist?

    Paris sez she wants to meat me 2nite!

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  5. Steen Hive
    Joke

    Next Pirate Bay CoLo?

    Illinois! Epic win.

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  6. Lee T
    Joke

    "underage MySpace users"

    Surely that's a tautology? ;-)

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Aren´t all...

    myspace users mentaly underage?

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  8. m0rph3us
    Thumb Up

    Do you think he may be biased?

    "Dart sought a court order requiring the site to close the section and to pay the costs his department incurred in cracking down on hookers and JOHNS!!!! who used the it.

    The ruling by US District Judge JOHN!!!! F. Grady is good news"

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  9. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Flame

    "Land of the free"

    "Prostitution laws"

    laughingelf.jpg

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  10. BoldMan
    Grenade

    @Gaetan 1

    Its STILL not Craigslist's fault and the judge would have to go after the perp who posted. There are legal avenues to do that.

    Why is it that whenever someone makes a sensisble ruling such as this that some moron posts a "if they did this then I bet the judge/whatever" would change their mind.

    We can all come up with idiotic scenarios that could ostensibly break the ruling, but in the REAL world (as opposed to some paranoid delusion) they normally don't happen.

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  11. richard 69
    Pint

    Mr Dart...straight to the point...

    stepped up to the challenge, went straight for tops but ended up in double 1..have another carling old boy

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  12. Stef 4
    Alien

    So...

    if Craigslist isn't to blame because it is the users that put the info there, does that mean the torrent sites which have no tracker but post links to torrents submitted by users are OK?

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  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Stef 4

    But torrent sites share music and that's very very very illegal and should be punshiched by death or billions of billions of fines not like these murder and rape and having sex for money minor offences.

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  14. Stef 4
    Thumb Up

    @ aTallPhotoPerson

    Ah, of course, I was forgetting.

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  15. steward
    Black Helicopters

    Don't break out the bubbly yet

    "The ruling by US District Judge John F. Grady is good news not only for Craigslist but for any US-based website that accepts comments,"

    Um, no.

    The ruling is only binding in states covered by the seventh circuit of the US Federal Court system, that is, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The SC attorney general can still see if he can get a different opinion in the fourth circuit (see map: http://www.uscourts.gov/images/CircuitMap.pdf ) If the fourth circuit disagrees with the seventh circuit, it will probably wind up in the Supreme Court; if they agree, other circuits will likely toss lawsuits out of court.

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  16. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    good on yer judge

    And here's a brew for you!

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  17. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    I wonder

    If a prostitute posts an ad for their services on say one of the following:

    A utility pole

    A traffic signal electrical box

    A bus stop

    Does that mean that Utilities, Streets departments, and Transit authorities might have to start policing their properties vigorously? After all, if they don't take that stuff down quickly, might'nt they be facilitating?

    Gov. had better be careful what they wish for.

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