April 07, 2021 5:21 PMLegal - By LOS ANGELES—Michael Lacey and James Larkin, the founders of Backpage.com who face trial later this year on multiple charges of money laundering and facilitating prostitution, suffered a new setback in their case this week. In a four-page opinion, a three judge panel of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals slapped down their bid to get the judge on their case thrown off. Backpage, a classified advertising site widely used as an online safe space for sex workers to promote their services and screen clients, was shut down and seized by the federal government in April of 2018. Lacey and Larkin were arrested and hit with a 93-count indictment. They have been awaiting trial in Arizona ever since, with the date — after several postponements — now set for August 23. The presiding judge is Susan Brnovich, a 2018 Donald Trump appointee, who is the wife of Arizona’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich.