Monica Jones won her appeal in Arizona last week. In reversing her conviction and ordering a new trial, the court criticized the trial judge’s decision for the legally flawed conclusion that Monica’s testimony should not be considered not trustworthy because she had a motivation to lie to avoid punishment.
As you may recall, Monica was convicted last April under a vague—and likely unconstitutional—statute for “manifesting intent to commit or solicit an act of prostitution.” That law criminalizes a wide range of everyday activities and gives police a blank check to profile transgender women of color and make “walking while trans” stops and arrests. In Monica’s trial, the prosecution also attempted to use her activism as part of the Phoenix Chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project against her.
Read the appeals court decision below, and check out the amicus brief Transgender Law Center joined (with our colleagues at the ACLU, Lambda Legal, Legal Aid Society, and Urban Justice Center) in August here.