In People v. Corona , Irais Corona challenge the legality -- or facial sufficiency -- of the prostitution charge brought against her.
A person is guilty of prostitution when s/he "engages or agrees or offers to engage in sexual conduct with another person for a fee." However, the papers accusing Corona of this crime stated that she "engaged, agreed, and offered to engage in sexual conduct with another person for a fee."
Corona argued that the use of the conjunctive -- "and" -- instead of the disjunctive -- "or" -- required prosecutors to show that she actually participated in sexual activity.
The New York County Criminal Court disagreed and was of the opinion that prosecutors only needed to show any one of the three acts to establish the crime's commission.
Was someone prostituting the English language?
To download a copy of the Criminal Court's decision, please use this link: People v. Corona