
Originally Posted by
Melonie
This is probably not the best place to elaborate, so I'll keep it short.
The key point to keep in mind is that, in the vast majority of cases, any 'busted' dancer is going to be arraigned before some local yokel 'part time' judge with minimal legal education. That judge has very probably presided over 100's of busts of 'classic' prostitutes, as well as 'strippers' ... and in the vast majority of cases those girls have A. actually been guilty, and B. tried to lie their asses off to beat the charge. Thus any busted dancer automatically faces a 'credibility' problem. And if there isn't any 'hard' evidence of the dancer's innocence ( i.e. a surveillance tape showing exactly what was and was NOT said and done just prior to the bust ), when it comes down to the word of a well respected local vice cop versus a 'stripper', guess who the local yokel judge is going to believe !!!
If the busted dancer pleads innocent, the next step in the process is going to local trial ... where a jury consisting of housewives, civil servants, retirees etc. will be faced with the same word of a well respected local vice cop versus a 'stripper' claiming innocence. Guess who the jury is going to believe !!!
You are correct, however, that at the 'appellate' level, judges who are not acquainted with the arresting officer, judges who actually have lots of legal education and experience, will finally consider legal 'niceties' such as the existence of sufficient probable cause for arrest and/or the actual evidence available to support a charge of soliciting prostitution. However, getting to this point is likely to cost the busted dancer $5,000+ out of her own pocket for legal fees to file the appeal AFTER she has first been convicted in a local court !!!
So while there are lots of cases where the busted dancer is actually innocent by the letter of the law, there are extremely few cases where the busted dancer will choose to turn down a 'plea bargain' deal ( with legal fees and fines often paid by the clubowner ) and being able to return to work at the club the very next night, versus putting up the significant amounts of time and money to 'prove her innocence' via first going to a local trial, and then filing an appeal. I would also add that, unless the busted dancer has already made arrangements for ( and paid ) her own attorney to have the paperwork ready to immediately file an appeal, if she's found guilty at local trial she'll potentially wind up being a 'guest of the county' for a few days / weeks ... which, if nothing else, means lots of lost dancing income !!!
Accepting a 'plea bargain' offer guarantees no jail time and no big legal fees, but also requires that the busted dancer enter a de-facto 'admission of guilt'. This can be a big deal later on, i.e. future straight job employers / state professional licensing agencies turning up a de-facto prostitution bust on the girl's permanent record. In some states, and in some circumstances, it's possible for a girl to hire an attorney after the fact to file a motion to have her permanent record 'expunged'. But this isn't 'free' and it isn't a 'sure thing' either.
The bottom line here is that dancers need to keep in mind that even a vague verbal offer of sex ( later ) in exchange for any form of money ( now ) can be construed as soliciting prostitution. Thus in real world terms, a dancer offering a vague verbal offer versus actually performing sex acts inside or outside the club basically face the same legal risks and potential consequences in the absence of having $5,000+ available for the appeals process.
Now for the true irony. Once a dancer has a ( de-facto or actual ) prostitution conviction on her permanent record, she basically has absolutely nothing additional to lose if a second or third prostitution charge winds up being added. Local gov'ts certainly don't want to absorb the costs of holding local trials, and especially don't want to absorb the costs of incarcerating a busted dancer. So there will ALWAYS be 'plea bargain' deals available involving zero jail time and a medium sized fine, in exchange for another ( de-facto ) admission of guilt but being able to return to the club the very next night. In fact, in some jurisdictions, bogus busts + plea bargains + fine money is an integral part of the local LE / court system 'budget', and local clubowners / dancers being busted and paying fines is just another 'cost of doing business'.
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