People v. James
Criminal Court of the City of New York
415 N.Y.S.2d 342 (1979)
First-time defendants Audrey James (21, a business student) and Laverne McCray (23, a business student living with her parents) were each charged with prostitution; the applicable criminal statute had previously treated women engaged in prostitution more harshly than men who patronized them, and the district attorney had customarily offered first-time female defendants an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, but after the law was amended to equalize treatment of the offenses, the district attorney stopped offering any plea deals even to first-time offenders like James and McCray. Both defendants moved for dismissal in the interests of justice.
Whether prostitution charges against two first-time offenders should be dismissed in the interests of justice, after a change in law eliminated the previous practice of offering first-time defendants a favorable plea disposition.