Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
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You were busted for asking an undercover police officer to have sex for money. You are now facing a criminal charge of solicitation. Is there any way to challenge it?
Yes. There are four common and effective legal defenses to charges of solicitation of prostitution in California. These are to show that:
The criminal laws of most states say that you commit solicitation if you:
A first-time solicitation charge is usually filed as a misdemeanor offense. The crime is punishable by:
Note that these penalties can increase for a second offense.
It can be, yes. Entrapment is when a law enforcement officer lures you or induces you into committing a criminal act.2
People usually raise this defense in solicitation cases after they get arrested by an undercover police officer (usually in the course of a sting operation).
The defense works as a complete defense to solicitation provided that you can prove that:
Entrapment usually involves overbearing official conduct and may involve:
Defense strategies in solicitation cases can involve the concept of intent.
Recall that you are only guilty of solicitation if you:
Therefore, it is an effective defense for you or your criminal defense attorney to show that you did not intend to have sex.
For instance, maybe you asked a prostitute for a sexual act as a joke or as part of a dare.
Consider the scenario where two young men see a prostitute on a street corner. One says to the other, “you don’t have the guts to walk over there and ask her for sex.” Thinking it would be funny to take the dare, the man approaches the prostitute and asks what he can get for $100.
Here, the man is not guilty of solicitation. This is because while he asked for some type of sex act, he did not do so with the specific intent to actually engage in that act. He asked as part of a dare.
Lack of credibility is often used as a defense with two main sets of facts.
The first is when the police fail to produce videos or recordings to corroborate their reports and testimony. While the police may provide statements alleging an act of prostitution, you can show that the statements lack credibility because there is little evidence to support them.
The second situation is when an arresting officer has a history of misconduct. If this officer testifies in court and says he saw you trying to solicit a prostitute, your defense counsel can try to impeach the officer (or discredit the officer’s testimony) by asking about the misconduct.
You can raise this defense as well in a solicitation case.
Remember that in the criminal justice system, a prosecutor has to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you are guilty of a crime.
They also have to support their case with credible evidence to meet this burden.
If they cannot do so because of a lack of evidence, then the lack of proof means that your case should get dropped or dismissed.
Yes. If you have been accused of a sex crime, including an act of prostitution or solicitation, seek legal advice from a defense attorney.
A solicitation or prostitution defense attorney or law firm can help by:
A defense attorney can also work with a prosecutor to help you reach a plea deal.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.