In January, a 23-year-old woman sat in Phoenix Municipal Court listening to a prosecutor lay out the evidence against her. On the night of her arrest, she was scantily dressed, the prosecutor told the judge. She also had condoms in her purse and got into a car with a man.

In Phoenix, that was enough to charge her with a crime.

“Given the way the defendant was dressed, as well as a statement as to a date, and her getting in the vehicle with this witness — there is evidence of manifesting prostitution," a prosecutor told Municipal Court Judge Alex Navidad.

Or, more specifically, “manifesting an intent to commit or solicit an act of prostitution.” An obscure city ordinance in Phoenix makes this act a crime with a mandatory sentence of at least 15 days in jail.

The woman, whose name Phoenix New Times is withholding to protect her privacy, is one of more than 450 people in Phoenix who have been charged with manifestation of prostitution over the past eight years. The ordinance, which has been called unconstitutional by the ACLU of Arizona, allows the act of flagging down a car or wearing provocative clothing to be used as grounds to cite someone.

In 2014, the city’s prosecution of Monica Jones under the ordinance drew national outcry. Civil rights organizations condemned the arrest of Jones, a transgender activist and social work student. Even celebrities spoke out against the city’s use of the law.

But Phoenix has not stopped using the ordinance, according to data obtained by New Times.

A review of the data showed that hundreds of people — including 90 in 2022 — have been charged with manifesting prostitution since Jones’ case. Over the last two years, the majority of those charged were Black

  • Lmaydev@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    She was arrested for manifestation of prostitution on May 17, 2013 after accepting a ride home from an undercover Phoenix police officer whom she had met at a bar. A few minutes after getting in the car, a police vehicle pulled up, and she realized she had been caught up in an anti-prostitution sting. That night, Jones was wearing a “black, tight-fitting dress,” the Phoenix police officer testified at trial. She was in an area known to have prostitution activity, he claimed, never mind that the arrest occurred near where Jones lived. A municipal court judge sentenced her to a month in jail.

    I think getting a lift home resulting in a prostitution charge is pretty ridiculous.