SOLICITATION

I have been handling solicitation cases since 1981 and have extensive experience appearing in courts all over the Baltimore Metropolitan area. I will be happy to provide you with a free consultation so that we can discuss your case. I will provide you with honest advice based on years of experience. If you decide to engage me as your attorney, I will provide you with personalized service at reasonable rates. Payment plans may also be available.

Why You Need An Attorney:

An attorney can help you assess whether you have a viable defense and should fight your case.

An attorney can help you keep your record clean.

Defendants with attorneys do better than defendants without attorneys.

How I Can Help You:

I can help you assess the chances of winning your case. I will give you honest advice about whether you have viable defenses.

I can help you obtain a medical evaluation if it is necessary to help you.

I can help you keep your record clean if you are convicted.

I can help guide you through a terrible situation while maintaining your dignity.

Let’s review a few misconceptions about what constitutes solicitation and what legally recognized defenses are available to a defendant charged with this offense. To be convicted of the crime of solicitation the prosecutor needs merely to show that the person charged asked another person to engage in an illegal act. Asking another to engage in a sexual act in a public place is a crime in Maryland. Thus, for one person to ask another person to engage in oral sex or any type of sexual act amounts to soliciting a crime in this state, unless you can prove that you requested that the officer return to your home, for example, to engage in the sexual activity. Of course, it will still be the officer’s word against yours.

It is not necessary for you to begin the conversation to be guilty of solicitation. The scenario usually goes something like this. You are in a cruisy area. Someone approaches you and makes eye contact. The other person may even make more blatantly suggestive gestures. You begin talking to this person. You ask if the are a cop. They say no. You feel safe and begin to engage in a sexual discussion. Usually they will ask you what you would like or what you would like to do. You respond with a sexual proposition. You are then promptly arrested for solicitation. It doesn't seem quite fair; but, it is nonetheless a perfectly legal arrest in the state of Maryland.

Most people believe that if you ask if someone is a police officer that they must affirmatively respond. That may be true on some old Dragnet episode. Unfortunately, it is definitely not so in this state. Most of my solicitation clients complain that they were approached by the officer first. If the officer made the first move, why are they guilty of solicitation? Why isn't that entrapment? Morally, it may be entrapment. Legally, it is not. In order to successfully raise the defense of entrapment, you must show that you were not predisposed to committing the criminal act. It is very difficult to prove that you did not intend to engage in sexual activity if you are in an area where such activity is known to occur regularly.

In the 25 years that I have been handling these types of cases, I would venture to say that the police initiated the contact in at least 90% of the cases. Even if you don't illegally respond to the officer's urgings, they often lie and say you did. Or, they do what we call "gilding the lily" and elaborate on what you did say, making it much worse than it really was. I have even experienced cases where officers claim that the defendant improperly touched them when the accused flatly denies any such occurrence. Of course, additional charges may be leveled if other criminal acts are alleged. Unfortunately, it is the officer’s word against yours. Needless to say, these are difficult cases to win.

I can help guide you through the legal process, minimizing your embarrassment and helping to insure that your criminal record remains clean if this is your first offense. The going rate for first offense District Court cases is between $500.00 and $750.00. You should pay no more than $750.00 for representation in this type of case. Don't get burned twice.

Although the maximum penalty for solicitation is one year in prison and/or a $500.00 fine, incarceration is not usual. None of my clients have ever been incarcerated as a result of this type of case for a first offense. You can expect to maintain a clean record if this is your first offense. Some judges impose terms of supervised or non-supervised probation. Fines and court costs usually range anywhere from $100.00 to $250.00 for first offenses. Subsequent offenses are usually dealt with more harshly. Courts in Baltimore City usually require completion of a one day AIDS education program. Baltimore County and the Anne Arundel County judges have been known to impose more severe sentences in these cases.

The whole mess can be an anxiety-ridden nightmare. The lesson is, if you are approached in a similar situation that seems too good to be true, it is probably just that. Beware of plainclothes officers in cruisy areas.

If you decide to engage me as your attorney, I will provide you with personalized service at reasonable rates and payment plans where appropriate. I would be happy to discuss the specifics of your case and to provide a free initial consultation for your solicitation case. Call me. I’m ready, willing and able to help you make the best of a bad situation.