-In penal code section 647 (b), California law defines
prostitution as engaging in the exchange of sex for money
or something of value.
And in the same statute, solicitation is defined as
offering or agreeing to engage in the exchange of sex for
money or something of value.
And usually, we see these cases come up in the context
of undercover sting operations, where there's an
undercover officer who's posing as a customer, or the
John, trying to bust the prostitute, or even more
commonly, where the undercover officer is posing as a
prostitute and trying to bust Johns or potential customers.
And what's important to realize is that if you offer a
hooker, or somebody who you believe to be a hooker, money
in exchange for sex, then the mere act of offering that is
enough to complete the crime.
So the please don't have to prove that you actually had
sex with the person or even that any money
was ultimately exchanged.
Merely agreeing to the transaction is enough to
complete the crime.
Now, prostitution is a misdemeanor.
If you're convicted, you likely would face probation,
perhaps some jail time.
And there's a maximum of up to six months of jail time.
As well, a lot of times, it'll be required that you take an
AIDS test and that you stay away from the location where
it occurred.
But perhaps, the worst ramification of a prostitution
or solicitation conviction is having it on your record.
Because it's embarrassing.
It's a red flag for employers.
And you don't want to be in a situation where you're in a
job interview and you want to be talking about your
experience of your qualifications, but instead,
you find yourself explaining why you've been convicted of
solicitation.
So if you're charged with this offense, you want to do
everything that you can, now, to fight it and keep it off
your record.
That said, prostitution and solicitation is one of those
crimes where it can be surprisingly difficult for the
prosecutor to prove the case.
And first of all, we find, a lot of times, that there's
ambiguity in the language that's used.
So we'll get a police report.
And in a situation where there was an undercover sting, and
the undercover was posing as a prostitute, and it will say
that our client offered the undercover $50 for oral sex.
And when we actually get the tape and the transcript and we
look at it, it's not nearly that clear.
Our client may have said, how much do you charge, and what
would I get for that, and where would we do it, and are
you a police officer?
But there's never a point where our client explicitly
says, OK, I'll do it, I'll pay you $50 for a blow job.
And without that sort of explicit language, it's
difficult for the prosecutor to prove their case.
Also, we find that there's a lot of situations where our
client really wasn't serious.
So a lot of guys like to go up to people who they think are
hookers and jive with them and pretend like they're
bargaining and ask them what they do and pretend like
they're a potential customer.
But the reality is that they have no intention of going
through with it, that they have no intention of really
paying the person money for sex.
And if that was not the intent of our client to really go
through with it, then it's not the crime of prostitution.
Furthermore, we find a lot of cases where the police really
do a poor job of collecting evidence.
And one place where we see this, all
the time, is in Hollywood.
Because we get a lot of cases that arise out of Sunset and
Hobart in this area in Hollywood, where it's ground
zero for prostitution.
And LAPD vice squad sets up these sting operations, and
they have an officer who poses as the hooker.
And she's wearing a wire, and her back up team is listening
to the conversation.
But they don't record it, and so they don't
have to tape to produce.
They don't have a recording.
They only have the officer's testimony.
And the fact is judges don't like it when
there's not a tape.
Juries, if it goes to trial, do not like it when there's
not a tape.
They want to hear the actual conversation.
So a lot of times, the police really have trouble proving
their case.
We also have situations where the evidence is really clear
against our client.
So maybe it is on tape, maybe it is on video, maybe our
client confesses.
So it's really hard to challenge
the case on the evidence.
But even in those cases, we can go to the prosecutor and
the judge and show, look, our client has no record, he's got
a family, he's got a good job.
A conviction would devastate his career, let's not destroy
his life with a conviction over one moment of
indiscretion in an otherwise good life that he's leading.
And many times, we are able to convince the court to do
what's called an informal diversion and let us pay a
fine or do some community service in exchange for,
ultimately, getting the charge dismissed.
So between all of these methods, here at Shouse Law
Group, we've had a great record of success over the
years in getting prostitution and solicitation charges
reduced or dismissed.
And if you're in this situation, we
encourage you to call us.
Let us investigate.
Let's see what we can do for you.