Goddess Temple - Tracy Appeal Update
In June 2017 Tracy (or attorney) filed a motion to extend time to file the opening brief.
   
Motion approved with following order of scheduling:
Tracy's opening brief due 9/6/2017
State's answering brief due 12/5/2017
Tracy reply brief due 1/12/2018
   
Tracy remains in prison with little information about anyone having recent contact.
   
The appeal was filed 6/6/2016.  Tracy was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on 5/19/2016 for numerous felony counts related to running a house of prostitution after a long jury trial and a very fast verdict. After release from prison, she has four more years of probation. The other 37 defendants took plea deals with probation to avoid potential prison terms.  
   
Police raided the Temple in 2011 - the case was in Court for about 5 years.

The following comments from latest Appeals update from a sketch artist professional I met at the Temple trial and have been in contact since.   His work is really good!

I have permission to share his comments but he wishes to remain anonymous

Thanks for keeping me up on events.  
Oh, and speaking of courts, on Thursday, July 6, I plan to be watching the closing arguments of Joe Arpaio's contempt of court trial.  

Here is a man who brought great fear and hardship to numerous people and it seems he probably won't spend a day in jail - but the dependence in the Goddess case brought fulfillment and all who sought them desired their services.

And it cost a fortune to prosecute both cases.  That money could have, of course, been better spent with people in need.  I'm seeing many homeless people on the streets even in the 118 degree weather.  What a waste to spend money on detectives, lawyers, prisons, etc,  simply to make people suffer.  

I also wonder - and perhaps you might have the answer for this;  why did the government need undercover detectives and lengthy investigations to close the temple down?   Why couldn't they find some statute to close the temple down as they would a restaurant or an unsafe building?  It would have saved a lot of money.    

I can think of a few reasons right now.  Perhaps they figured that even if they sent a warning to the temple, the people might continue to operate even without the building - but there will always be clients anyway.  Why waste money only to make people suffer like Tracy?  Tracy really believes in the importance and goodness of her actions and it is a shame to me to stop someone so committed on religious basis.   I think it might be seen as clash of religions.  -- But unlike the blue-noses who locked her up and caused the fear and misery,  Tracy provided a service and did commit the cruelty of the state.   People wanted Tracy's service, but the state made people suffer.    

As you might recall, I draw and do graphics so I will bring my sketch pad (at the Arpaio trial).  I also pass out my business card hoping to find an attorney who might hire me to produce computer generated courtroom presentations.    
   
Dave's comments on his questions:
  In the Temple case, obviously a waste of taxpayer money – but the Temple is just one of maybe 100 cases I follow all with private consenting adults – lots of massage busts, the porn studio guy convicted facing 44 years in prison and all the workers took pleas and many other felony cases in Superior Court.  

 This is part of the "save the prostitute" mentality as the vice cop testified at Tracy's trial, that he had never met a prostitute that wasn't abused or forced in some way into prostitution.   Now the big thing is end demand by "John stings"   Recently in Seattle PD set up a fake massage parlor and arrested 200 men in just a week. http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/more-than-200-arrested-in-spd-prostitution-sting/548814736
   
  Also, it was the JURY that convicted.  The State, of course, prosecuted the case and police did the long costly investigation, sending in two undercover females to work at the Temple and "customers" as well as long stakeouts of the parking lot to record all the plates of those coming and going.  
   
  Police have been getting huge grants to fund this from the multi-million dollar tax-exempt foundations and organizations that raise $millions to "save the prostitutes"  under the excuse of "children and sex trafficking" even when neither is involved.  In Phoenix Ms. McCain (as in husband ran for President) and her foundation that has pushed for "save the prostitute by arresting them" campaign.  
   
  This is similar to in 1999 when Phoenix made swing clubs illegal when the Christian group helped write the new law to "save children and neighborhoods."  TV report from the parking lot of Club C asked: "where are the children and neighbors?" It was in a very industrial area near a railroad track.