Elizabeth Nolan Brown on America’s Prostitution Precrime Laws

Last year, student and activist Monica Jones was arrested on
charges of “manifesting an intent to commit or solicit
prostitution.” It’s a misdemeanor crime in Phoenix, with a minimum
penalty of 15 days in jail. What does “manifesting prostitution”
look like? According to city code, engaging in conversation with
passersby, waving to passing cars, or inquiring whether someone is
a cop will do it. 

Phoenix’s statute is one of the most broad. But in cities and
states around the country, it’s illegal to “loiter for the purpose
of engaging in prostitution.” Elizabeth Nolan Brown explores these
laws—which have been struck down as unconstitutional by several
state supreme courts—and the way they’re enforced. “It is not a
violation of the law merely to look like a prostitute might,” wrote
an Oregon judge overturning a loitering for prostitution
conviction. But effectively, in many places, it is. 

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