So. Carolina AG ordered to leave Craigslist alone

Federal judge orders South Carolina to halt criminal investigation of Craigslist.

A judge has ordered Henry McMaster, attorney general of South Carolina, not to file any criminal charges against Craigslist until the related matter is settled in court.

A judge for the U.S. district court in South Carolina on Friday issued a temporary restraining order in the case. Craigslist sought the order after McMaster threatened the service as well as its managers with criminal prosecution.

McMaster has demanded that Craigslist do more to halt prostitution ads from appearing on its site. He said he would instruct his staff to launch a criminal investigation unless the ads were removed. He continued issuing threats even after Craigslist agreed to shut down its "erotic" section and replace it with a new "adult" area.

Craigslist has filed suit against McMaster, whose motivations were questioned in a story by The Associated Press. On Thursday, the AP reported that McMaster has never prosecuted a prostitution case in six years. Critics have said that if McMaster were serious about combating prostitution, he could start trying cases or at least go after newspapers and other classified publications that also offer the same kind of questionable content as Craigslist.

Craiglist representatives declined to comment and McMaster's office did not reply to an interview request.

[AnthonyQ1965]

I'm so happy this pompous idiot was told to leave Craigslist alone. It's people like this with nearly ultimate authority, that abuse that authority and make our country less than what it should be. Don't get me wrong, I despise the sex ads on Craigslist myself, but I despise people who think they are better than others and use their authority in ways is was never meant even worse.

[gerrrg]

You miss the point; BOTH sides agreed to the order, which is only temporary, until the lawsuit filed by craigslist is resolved in court.

[dlmcdonough]

No, gerrg, you miss the point. The grant of the restraining order, agreed by both sides as it was, is a huge black eye for the AG. As is the AP story. As it should be: The AG was not supporting a principal, or seeking justice. His goal was self-aggrandizement. He jumped on a bandwagon for nothing other than the national attention it brought him...even undermined his own agreement with craigslist to gather more personal attention after other AG's backed off...People like this guy get away with this all the time, and I too am thrilled to see him humbled and shamed, publicly, by his own actions. And i hope that more companies and individuals, faced by someone like the SC AG, take action like craigslist did, even though it is risky to do so.

[benjwah]

++

[ferricoxide]

Maybe he'll end up going the Nifong route?

One could always hope.

[galeso]

No, dlmcdonough, you miss the point. This is about getting re-elected. Sue craigslist and get tons of free front page publicity, sue a ***** maybe one line in section 3.

You are right, this is a huge black eye for the AG. Now he has to stop illegally harassing individuals to encourage/force them to make them plead craigslist guilt. Now he has to wait until the trial and hopefully the re-election is over.

Oops, the AG forgot to prosecute any prostitution cases. Maybe craigslist is taking business away from the AGs re-election contributors.

[dlmcdonough]

No, gerrg, you miss the point. The grant of the restraining order, agreed by both sides as it was, is a huge black eye for the AG. As is the AP story. As it should be: The AG was not supporting a principal, or seeking justice. His goal was self-aggrandizement. He jumped on a bandwagon for nothing other than the national attention it brought him...even undermined his own agreement with craigslist to gather more personal attention after other AG's backed off...People like this guy get away with this all the time, and I too am thrilled to see him humbled and shamed, publicly, by his own actions. And i hope that more companies and individuals, faced by someone like the SC AG, take action like craigslist did, even though it is risky to do so.

[fondy]

Kinda cool that a federal judge has the authority to make a state AG stop acting like an a$$. Wouldn't it be cool if there were someone who could do the same when the US AG started acting like one?

[SlimGem]

How about the Supreme Court?

[soonerproud]

Have to agree with the US Supreme Court comment. Not to be rude, but you should read the US Constitution to get a better grasp on howthe system is supposed to work.

[rrod182]

Technically speaking the court did not shut up the AG. The restraining order is to prevent contamination and harassment on both sides until the litigation is complete. But it also shows that the AG went too far and probably destroyed any chance at a case he had.

Should craigslist win, which they will, an injunction will probably be ordered to keep that AG from continuing to be an ass. Should craigslist lose, the AG can be an ass for the most part until craigslist complies with the ruling, short of defamation.

The reason this case is very important is that it will set a pretty good legal precedent about whether a neutral site can be held criminally liable for personal activities of the users.

[utahcarol]

"On Thursday, the AP reported that McMaster has never prosecuted a prostitution case in six years. "

Shoot your proofreader. Has this individual never prosecuted a case or has it been six years since his last case? You can't have both.

[pentest]

um, assuming he has been in office for 6 years, that is a correct statement.

[flickrz]

It doesn't matter now. McMaster wants to become governor of SC and for that he showed that he has conservative values. Now, southern right wing groups would support him. It is this kind of fake religious beliefs that are ailing south. Everyone tries to prove they are more conservative than their competitors to garner greater support from right wing groups. He must have now become a role model for those.

[benjwah]

You might be right. If (as a direct result of being a terrible AG with nothing but political ambition) he becomes Governor, it will be a sad, sad day for intelligence.

[globalist_agenda]

We don't need no edu-cation. We don't need no thought control. Hey, AG, leave us Christians a-lone.

[ferricoxide]

So what is it with AGs in the Carolinas? I mean, you had that asshat, Mike Nifong, in North Carolina who committed career suicide insisting on prosecuting that Duke lacrosse case a couple years ago...

[bublite]

Mike Nifong was a district attorney not the AG.

[setjeff15081947]

Dumb-#&*%-Southerner got just what he deserved. Will the state of South Carolina please stay out of my private life? And I'll stay out of yours ... assuming you have any!