Back to all newsCW prepares to argue appeal raising matters of first impression
June 2025
CW recently filed an opening brief in the Ninth Circuit for United States v. Scott Spear, a case of potential first impression. Our client, Scott Spear, is the former VP of the website Backpage, a Craigslist-style site that hosted an assortment of third-party content, such as classified ads. After a handful of Backpage customers posted ads associated with prostitution, Mr. Spear was convicted of facilitating prostitution and is now serving a 10-year sentence. While Mr. Spear had never seen the ads or even knew they existed, the government prosecuted him under an aiding and abetting theory.
This case will have far-reaching consequences for the owners and operators of websites that host third-party content. CW's appeal raises numerous matters of first impression, including whether the First Amendment bars the prosecution of media executives who publish third-party content that constitutes lawful speech, even where third parties later use that publication to further their own unlawful endeavors.
Two amicus briefs have already been filed in support. The first, by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the FPD, argues that the government's prosecution theory is invalid as a matter of criminal law. The second, by a group of nonprofits that includes the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Reason Foundation, Woodhull Freedom Foundation, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argues that the government's theory violates the First Amendment.