Craigslist should not be sued for prostitute ads while prostitutes should

 A lawsuit launched against Craigslist to force the classified ads website to remove the Adult Services section was dismissed by a federal judged. U.S. District Court Judge John Grady ruled that not all ads posted on the Craigslist "Adult Services" section advertised prostitution and that other services could legitimately appear there.

"A woman advertising erotic dancing for male clients is offering an adult service, yet this is not prostitution," he said in a 31-page opinion Tuesday.

Besides, the judge also added that such kind of ad "might even be entitled to some limited protection under the First Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution.

Craigslist was also found not to blame for those website users who post ads that violate the San Francisco-based Web site's guideline barring prostitution ads.

The lawsuit was filed in July by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart who alleged that a category name from "Erotic Services" to "Adult Services" had not done any good as prostitutes were not prevented from using the website.

"Sheriff Dart may continue to use Craigslist's Web site to identify and pursue individuals who post allegedly unlawful content," Grady said. "But he cannot sue Craigslist for their conduct."

Dart claims that the reasons for the lawsuit are abundant as the sheriff's department has made hundreds of prostitution arrests related to Craigslist in the last two years.

"It isn't that I just woke up one morning and said, 'Let's sue Craigslist,' " Dart said. "This came after two years and hundreds of arrests off of the Web site, and many of the arrests involve juveniles and human trafficking."

While Darts acknowledges that after Craigslist’s removal of Erotic Services" category a number of pictures of scantily clad women in suggestive poses disappeared from the Web site he notes that there is still place for prostitute ads on the site.