High court temporarily blocks subpoena over sex ads

Notable Attorneys

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday temporarily blocked a congressional subpoena that seeks information on how the classified advertising website Backpage.com screens ads for possible sex trafficking.

The order came hours after Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer asked the high court to intervene, saying the case threatens the First Amendment rights of online publishers.

A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 on Friday that the website must respond to the subpoena within 10 days. Roberts said Backpage does not have to comply with the appeals court order until further action from the Supreme Court. He requested a response from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations by Friday.

The Senate panel has tried for nearly a year to force Backpage to produce certain documents as part of its investigation into human trafficking over the Internet.

After the website refused to comply, the Senate voted 96-0 in March to hold the website in contempt. The vote allowed the Senate to pursue the documents in federal court, marking the first time in more than two decades that the Senate has enforced a subpoena in court.

A federal district judge sided with the Senate last month, rejecting arguments that the subpoena was unconstitutional, overly broad and burdensome. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed.

Related listings

  • Egyptian lawyer, journalist released after prison sentence

    Egyptian lawyer, journalist released after prison sentence

    Notable Attorneys 08/09/2016

    Egyptian authorities have released two prominent human rights activists who had been jailed for over a year for demonstrating against police brutality. Lawyer Mahienour el-Masry and journalist Youssef Shabaan were freed Saturday after serving 15 mont...

  • Kansas court upholds death sentence for sheriff's killing

    Kansas court upholds death sentence for sheriff's killing

    Notable Attorneys 07/23/2016

    The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence imposed against a man who fatally shot a sheriff during a 2005 drug raid. Kansas hasn't executed anyone in more than 50 years, and Friday's decision in Scott Cheever's case is only the seco...

  • Senate confirms district court judge for New Jersey

    Senate confirms district court judge for New Jersey

    Notable Attorneys 07/05/2016

    The Senate has confirmed President Barack Obama's nominee for the U.S. District Court for the district of New Jersey. The vote was 92-5 on Wednesday for Brian Martinotti, who has served as a judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey since 2002. Obama...

Forte Law Group is a trusted resource to protect your child’s needs.

Based on the culmination of ongoing state, municipal and board of education budget cuts, coupled with school districts having to do more with less resources, the current climate within schools often dictates that you may require a special education attorney to achieve the best results when advocating for your child’s right to a free appropriate public education. Coupled with increasing class sizes, your child may slip through the cracks within the school system itself and not be receiving an appropriate education with measurable goals and objectives.

A Connecticut Special Education Attorney Knows the Law

Often is the situation that there already exists a high level of frustration and contention between the family and school when special education and related services are not being appropriately delivered. Many times, the relationship between family and school results in an adversarial environment that is not conducive towards a team approach for the benefit of your child’s needs.

Business News

New York Adoption and Family Law Attorneys Our attorneys have represented adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoption agencies. >> read
DuPage IL worker's comp lawyers Since 1962, the law firm of Krol, Bongiorno & Given, Ltd. has been a leader in the field of workers’ compensation law in DuPage, Illinois. >> read