Solicitation of Prostitution

In cases involving solicitation of prostitution, most clients that come to McGregor & Ernenwein have been arrested in so called "sting operations". These operations usually involve a woman or a man soliciting drivers from the side of a roadway. In these matters the prosecution alleges that there was an agreement involving money for sex. The client is usually arrested after pulling into a parking lot or inside of a hotel room. The client is thereafter charged with solicitation of prostitution pursuant to Penal Code section 647(b). Penal Code section 647(b) as a misdemeanor usually carries a fine, community service and an AIDS education class and test. In these cases there are several possible defenses, including entrapment. Entrapment involves a situation where the defense alleges that the client had no intent to commit a criminal act. Rather, the criminal act was suggested by the undercover officer. Another common defense is that the client did not "commit an act in furtherance of" the agreement to commit prostitution. In order to sustain a conviction in a solicitation for prostitution case, the prosecution must prove that there was an act done in "furtherance of the agreement" to complete the act of prostitution. The prosecution usually argues that the arrangement for the arrival at a hotel room constitutes "furtherance of the agreement to complete prostitution". Very often clients are arrested almost immediately after the agreement is made or while driving down the street. An argument can be made that this is not an "act in furtherance of".