August in Texas is always hot. Everyone knows that. A hot topic in criminal law in the past couple of years has been the new law concerning Solicitation of Prostitution in Texas. Prostitution is sometimes called the “oldest profession.” If that’s true, the oldest customer might be the first man to solicit a prostitute. Under the previous regime of laws in Texas, both the first offense of prostitution and the first offense of solicitation of prostitution (the John asking for services) were classified as misdemeanors. However, the lawmakers in Texas changed the law in an effort to crack down on the source of prostitution. Now, the penal code designates even a first-time offense of solicitation of prostitution as a state jail felony.
Section 43.021 of the Texas Penal Code states: (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly offers or agrees to pay a fee to another person for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with that person or another. (b) An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony. This change in the law has made this charge far more serious off the bat. When the law changed, there was a considerable amount of uproar amongst criminal defense attorneys in Texas. A hallmark of American criminal law is based on the notion of equal protection under the law. Lady Justice holds a balancing scale, after all. To charge the prostitute with a misdemeanor but her (typically) male “John” with a felony feels like a disproportionate treatment of genders under the law. There are many arguments by prosecutors and the legislature against such a view. There’s a lot of male prostitution with male customers, of course. Also, the act of soliciting a prostitute can be viewed as different than the act of prostitution itself. Many women are forced into a life of prostitution, while no one forced someone to go out there and look for the services of prostitutes.
Nevertheless, the debate rages on about whether the upgraded penalty range for this charge is fair. The good news is that many defense attorneys, including those of us at Hindieh Law, took an aggressive stance on this new charge from the get-go. The DA’s Office in Dallas felt an enormous amount of pressure to avoid appeals on this new charge. And many lawyers took advantage of that softening stance against the backdrop of a new hard and fast law. Since the change in the law, I have had several clients picked up for a felony on this charge. I have gotten all of them reduced pleas to a misdemeanor. Because of the posture we in the defense bar have taken, and the reaction by the State – I have not once had an issue getting my client’s case dropped down to a misdemeanor attempted solicitation of prostitution (a far less serious charge). It’s possible that the DA’s Office will harden their stance in the years to come (a new administration always recycles old stances and policies) but, for now, Hindieh Law is having a lot of success with these charges. If you have been charged with solicitation of prostitution, call Hindieh Law today for a consult, and get back into control of your life.
