Arizona ACLU Names VVM Execs 'Civil Libertarians of the Year'
By AAN Staff
april 1, 2008 09:04 am
Village Voice Media executive editor Mike Lacey and chairman/CEO Jim Larkin received the honor at the AZ ACLU's annual Bill of Rights dinner this weekend. They were being honored for
publishing the county's illegal grand jury subpoenas against the
Phoenix New Times and its readers last fall, for which the pair
was ultimately arrested. But in presenting the award to the
New Times founders, AZ ACLU past president John Hay explained that the well-publicized dust-up was only the tip of the iceberg. "The excuse we're using is what happened this fall when they faced down the Sheriff and the County Attorney. But they have in fact been defending civil liberties now for at least 38 years," Hay said. "So it is my pleasure to present these awards, which I think are slightly wrong. This says Civil Libertarian of the Year. I present these awards to Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin for being Civil Libertarians of the past four decades."