Academic

?Eliot Spitzer - Tied to Prostitution? The Boys Versus The Girls?

By Ann Bartow

According to the Associated Press, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer is reported to be or have been a client of a ?high-end prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP.? This morning, Governor Spitzer publicly apologized to his family and the public, ?but did not not elaborate on a bombshell report that he has been involved in a prostitution ring.?

The story is still breaking, but it forces me to wonder if Governor Spitzer will be prosecuted for patronizing a prostitute, if it turns out that is what he did. As we all know, both parties involved in prostitution are breaking the law.

More to the point, as the DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, is prosecuted in federal court for running a prostitution ring, it will be interesting to see how things develop with Governor Spitzer. One of the DC Madam?s big gripes is that, though the government has the names and identities of plenty of her customers and *ahem* female contractors, only she - Deborah Jeane Palfrey - is being prosecuted.

Back when I was in law school at Columbia, I did research for the late Professor Curt Berger, who was a property expert. Professor Berger once asked me to research how many women versus how many men were arrested for prostitution (in New York state, as I recall). By far, the women outnumbered the men. Lovely?. Will the Eliot Spitzer situation, when juxtaposed with the DC Madam prosecution, prove the point further?

Stay tuned.

- Elizabeth Nowicki, cross-posted from Truth On The Market.

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on March 10, 2008 (boomark / email).