Soliciting a Prostitute

Prostitution may be legal in some parts of the county, but despite Maryland lawmakers and voters becoming socially progressive it is still illegal in the state. Maryland has just recently lowered the maximum penalty for possession of marijuana, and legalized same sex marriage, but prostitution is a long way from being legal. Unfortunately, soliciting a prostitute is a crime that seems to bring out the worst in our state’s prosecutors, and defendants are frequently treated unfairly in court in relation to defendants charged with other crimes. If you have been arrested for soliciting, do not gamble with your freedom or your future. The Herbst Firm’s solicitation lawyers have extensive experience representing individuals charged with this crime, and we will fight vigorously to keep you out of jail and keep this conviction off your record.

The charge of soliciting is typically more common in urban areas such as Baltimore City. For whatever reason, Baltimore police have made it a priority to fight prostitution, and one of the ways they attempt to do this is by deploying undercover “Janes” to lure would be solicitors. It does not matter to the police that this tactic does nothing to decrease the amount of prostitutes out on the street. And city cops are not concerned that these operations take up valuable police resources that could be used to fight violent crime. Undercover prostitution operations typically involve multiple police officers working as a takedown team, along with an undercover female posing as the Jane. The undercover police officer is out on the street looking to arrest someone, and whenever police are looking to make arrests, laws protecting citizens from unlawful police conduct are often broken.

There are a variety of ways to fight a solicitation charge. Many of our past clients have been first time offenders, and in that case we are committed to fighting to achieve a result that ends up in the case being eligible to be expunged. A conviction for soliciting a prostitute can be embarrassing and damaging to a person’s future, and our lawyers understand that one of the main priorities in defending this charge is to eventually have it wiped from public record. We will do whatever it takes to create the best defense possible for our clients, that we can use in the courtroom, and when negotiating with state prosecutors. There are also certain solicitation cases that can successfully be defended based on the defense of entrapment. Simply put, police officers are not allowed to engage in any activity that induces a person to do something criminal that he or she normally would not do. It is a difficult defense to argue, but many prostitution cases are won using this defense. Undercover police officers engage in entrapment all the time, but it is not legal! Often a person’s future is placed jeopardy because a police officer wants to pad his or her arrests stats. The Herbst Firm’s Baltimore prostitution lawyers will fight the police and the state prosecutors to make sure this type of unlawful police conduct does not result in a conviction. Contact us today for a free consultation about your case.

---