Process of a Prostitution Case in Maryland
After a prostitution charge, you might be embarrassed but also scared about what to do. An experienced Maryland prostitution lawyer can walk you through the prostitution case process and ensure you know what to expect.
Police Involvement
The first thing that to expect is that they might be asked by police officers to answer questions immediately. This is a tactic that is used by police officers to take advantage of people who are in a vulnerable state. It is not unusual for police officers to do this in almost every kind of criminal investigation, but typically people who are charged under the prostitution statute find themselves to be extremely vulnerable in these kinds of situations. The primary reason is because of how embarrassing something like this is for somebody to go through. Imagine a person who might be going to see a prostitute, maybe they are going to meet them in a hotel or some other location that was preplanned, and when they arrive there they are greeted by police. Suddenly they realize that many people in their life who they never expected would find out about what they had planned that day are potentially going to find out. That includes family, friends, spouses, and children. It can be an extremely embarrassing situation, so often these people are very cooperative with police officers and they end up confessing to everything. Of course, an experienced Maryland lawyer will tell you to not say a word, allow the police to process them in whatever way possible, and demand an attorney.
Oftentimes, police officers are using circumstantial evidence to prove prostitution cases, but sometimes circumstantial evidence is not enough to prove any criminal activity in court. Similarly, regarding the actual person who was the solicitor (the person who was offering the service of prostitution), it can be an extremely embarrassing experience and people tend to want to cooperate with police officers because of the circumstantial nature of these cases. However, it is important that people try to keep their mouths shut and wait to speak to an attorney before speaking to police about the case.
How a Prostitution Lawyer Can Help
The way that an experienced Maryland prostitution lawyer handles these situations is once the person has contacted an attorney, they get the name of the detective who is investigating the case. The detectives that handle these kinds of cases have been detectives on these kinds of cases for quite a while, so most seasoned attorneys have experience working with almost every major detective in these units throughout the state of Maryland. These detectives are very good at their jobs; they know exactly what they’re doing, how to set up operations, and the evidence that they need to get to try to prove the case. Oftentimes when an attorney is involved, especially an attorney that they know and have experience working with, these detectives become very aware of any shortcomings in their case and any areas where their case might fall short.
Oftentimes, once the case gets to court, prosecutors rely on these detectives to assist them in determining what an appropriate resolution is. If the defendant has an attorney involved who has worked with these detectives before, they can all work as a team to come to a resolution that is fair and appropriate as opposed to someone trying to go at it on their own and answering the detectives’ questions while they are building the case to make it stronger against them.