Are there any criminal defenses to solicitation charges?
Solicitation is a serious criminal charge. In Louisiana, a person may be charged with solicitation in a variety of contexts, but often solicitation charges are associated with the separate crime of prostitution. Generally, a charge of solicitation can result when a person is suspected of asking another person to commit a crime, and the asker intends to commit the crime with that person.
There are sometimes opportunities for individuals to use defenses to reduce or defeat their solicitation charges. If the solicitation charges are related to prostitution, an individual may claim that his or her request for sexual favors was not premised on the exchange of money. If an encounter between two individuals was not one of prostitution, there might be no underlying crime on which to base a solicitation charge.
Additionally, a person may defend a solicitation charge by demonstrating that he recanted or called off the commission of the underlying crime. Calling off the commission of the underlying crime generally must be communicated to the second party, and this defense may not work in all criminal cases. Solicitation does not require that the underlying crime occur, only that the individual requesting another person’s participation in the commission of that crime have the intent to follow through with committing the criminal act.
A conviction for criminal charges involving solicitation can carry serious penalties. Depending upon whether the underlying crime related to the solicitation charge is performed, a person may find himself facing charges beyond the solicitation claims. Though the defenses mentioned in this blog post may serve some individuals, it is important that readers speak with their own criminal defense attorney about their particular case. Different defenses or strategies may be available to different individuals based upon the facts of their case.
