The El Cajon Police Department yesterday published the names and photographs of men convicted of soliciting an act of prostitution and women convicted of agreeing to an act of prostitution. The men were snared through undercover officers posing as prostitutes. The woman were snared by undercover officers posing as Johns. Prostitution involves agreeing to pay for a sex act together with an act in furtherance of the agreement. The City of El Cajon decided that this crime is so serious that they will specially treat those convicted of prostitution to public shame and humiliation. Currently, El Cajon is the only City in San Diego County to publish the names and photographs of the convicted online, and I hope it will remain that way. In my view the police should not be publishing this information. Internet publication of offender information goes well beyond what is otherwise in the public record. The public record of conviction does not contain a photograph of convicted person and is not available to anyone with a computer, nor does it need to be. Moreover, internet information may live forever in cached sites. A person is entitled to clear their record though rehabilitation and expungement without being permanently stigmatized. In San Diego, Criminal defense lawyers expunge prostitution convictions every day. If you believe that women are exploited by prostituting themselves, you would agree that they are further exploited and victimized by the stigma of publishing their conviction and photo to the world. The majority of these women are teenagers. They deserve a second chance. No one can seriously believe that these women will be deterred from their conduct. The men – Johns – obviously have a lot to lose and arguably are deterred by publishing their names and photographs, but why are they also singled out for this public shaming and those convicted of other crimes ignored? They are obviously also entitled to rehabilitation and expugement without having to suffer beyond their punishment. For my part, this San Diego County criminal defense attorney will continue to fight these matters to jury trial, especially in El Cajon. I have had multiple prostitution juries report to me that they believe the time and money spent prosecuting these matter would be much better spent on other crimes.
Posts Tagged ‘expungement’
Changes to Clearing a Criminal Record
California law has long provided a way to expunge certain criminal convictions for those individuals who are off probation and are not serving a sentence for any other offense. Unfortunately, the California legislature has started to chip away at the right to expunge a criminal record, now providing that qualifying individuals for certain crimes must demonstrate that the expungement is in the interests of justice. In other words, the judges had no choice but to allow expungement in certain qualifying cases, but the judges now have discretion to deny the application. The change primarily affects those individuals who have been convicted of driving related offenses, such as DUI “driving under the influence,” or “wet reckless.” The practical effect of this change is now too early to be seen, but judges in San Diego have long rewarded people with criminal records who can demonstrate rehabilitation. I would think that if an individual needs the expungement for employment, supporting a family, or obtaining a professional or vocational licence, and if all conditions of probation have been completed, San Diego judges will continue to allow expungement for these individuals with qualifying convictions.
