let me repeat your questions:
1. how much should I set aside for bail money?
2. should I carry a checkbook (or one single check) so that I don't need to call a friend?
3. or do DMV states take creditcard too?
4. I haven't been arrested in my adult life, but during my teens, I was and remember that there was a 10% payment option. does this apply to DMV as well or is it usally the full stated amount?
5. how soon can i expunge this record off my criminal record (assuming i get caught one day)?
OK, here I will try to answer yor questions. You have asked some excellent questions but I would suggest you would have to do a little research of your own. These three areas have differences as well as similarities. As far as bail, if it is a cash bail you deal directly with the state, usually checks and credit cards do not work with them where as the checks and credit cards will work with bail bondsman. Perhaps someone with direct experience can give us some info on the exact procedure. As far as a partial payment, I doubt it for a criminal offense. As far as expunging, you may be out of luck in that department, as I will explain below.
Before dealing with the crime and punishment, I would suggest you stay out of Montgomery County, you can search a memo on them I wrote a month or so back, they are bad news. The cops there have set up phony web sites just to trap guy like you. I’d suggest a heavy round of masturbation before entering the state and do not stop if you see go-go.
Ok, in Maryland, sex crimes run the scale from first to fourth degree offense but most solicitation offenses are going to be considered 4th degree but you can still be required to register as a sex offender for almost any sex crime conviction. This is a life long registration process and you can only escape after death, this can apply to Internet sting convictions when you did not even get your whistle wet. Keep in mind that Maryland and DC ofter work together, so on to DC.
In DC, the solicitation statue is broad and they love to sting with Internet and massage parlor stings as well with lots of undercover vice on the street. Just recently a metro bus driver solicited a supposed prostitute who turned out to be an undercover vice cop who arrested him. This bus driver offered her a ten-dollar bill and a free bus ride, whether it was the low balling offer or his criminal intent that got him in trouble we do not know.
Generally solicitation is a misdemeanor offense, the penalties as follows:First Offense- Up to 90 days in jail and $500 in fine. Second Offense- Up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines. Third or Subsequent Offense- Up to 2 years in prison and $4,000 in fines.
In DC, “Prostitution” means a sexual act or contact with another person in return for giving or receiving a fee and both the person offering the services and the person receiving the services could be convicted of the offense. The penalty in DC is usually a “fine of $500 and/or not more than 90 days imprisonment for the first offense; a fine of $750 and/or up to 135 days imprisonment for a second offense; and a fine of $1000 and/or not more than 180 days for a third and each subsequent offense. The court may “suspend” the sentence (that is, order probation in lieu of incarceration) for a conviction of prostitution and order a person to stay away from the area in which the offense occurred as well as submit to medical and mental health treatment or fulfill. ” D.C. Criminal Code 22-2701. D.C. Criminal Code 22-2701.1. D.C. Criminal Code 22-2703.
First-time offenders in DC may participate in a “diversion” program in which the charges are dismissed after the defendant successfully completes an agreed-upon set of conditions, however the “John School” has recently been eliminated. Whether you quality will depend on the nature of offense and other extenuating circumstances such as repeat offender, violence, drug use etc. Now on to Virginia.
In the lovely state of Virginia, solicitation of prostitution is often referred to as a "victimless crime." However the arrests of persons involved with prostitution are vigorously prosecuted and the publicity of the arrest can lead to an assortment of other problems, such as job loss, wife loss, etc. No physical contact has to occur for a solicitation of prostitution charge to apply. As long as there is money, intent to have sex, and a furtherance of the offer you can end up in court. This makes stings easy to prosecute, unless you can prove you were entrapped, which means that frequenting a prostitute is something you would not normally consider. Good Luck!
Under Virginia law, solicitation for prostitution is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor. This classification carries a potential one-year in jail and fines reaching $2,500.
Keep in mind that these laws serve to scare away your erection, however a whole lot of fucking still goes on. Avoid Montgomery, avoid DC street hookers and you will probably be ok in Virginia with reviewed escorts as in most places. It is a shame that sex is such a crying crime, but we gotta do what we gotta do and let the chippies fall where they may.....
