Desperate times call for desperate measures. From the Smoking Gun:

A Kentucky woman is facing prostitution charges for allegedly trading sex for gasoline. Angela Eversole, 34, was nabbed last weekend during a police stakeout at a Days Inn, where she allegedly trysted with customer Kenneth Nowak. According to court records, Nowak admitted paying for Eversole's services, in part, with a $100 Speedway gas card.

Meanwhile, Eliot Spitzer's "Kristen" announced that she now takes payment in Exxon Mobil stock.

Nowak was charged with promoting prostitution. Eversole was hit with a prostitution rap and also charged with doing business without an occupational license.

Ah yes, whoring without a license. You need to be a licensed massage therapist to do that.

Eversole and Nowak are pictured in mug shots snapped following their June 27 arrests. A local prosecutor noted that it was sad to see someone selling their body for gas, in this case about 25 gallons worth.

Is it sad? Or is such entrepreneurship, in terms of allegedly having a customer "fill up her tank" in exchange for services, actually inspiring?

A truly brilliant prostitute, however, would have entered the futures market: a blow job today for a full tank of gas six months from now. That is surely a winning bet.

Sex For Gas [The Smoking Gun]

* Yesterday at the Supreme Court: South Africa damages case will go forward (because SCOTUS has no quorum -- four justices recused); 8-1 ruling holds that federal magistrate judge may preside over jury selection in a felony trial, with defense counsel's express consent; cert granted to appeal by Virginia death row inmate. [SCOTUSblog]

* Clear Channel buyout being renegotiated; litigation will settle. [DealBook / NYT; WSJ Law Blog]

* Emperors Club booker expected to plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit interstate travel in aid of racketeering. [New York Times]

* The shady business of litigation finance. [Daily Business Review]

* Jury selection begins in R. Kelly kiddie porn case. [CNN]

* Earthquake in southwest China leaves 12,000 dead, with thousands more still buried under rubble. [New York Times]

Last year, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam," was suggested as a possible running mate for John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But thanks to a development from earlier this afternoon, that probably won't be happening. From the AP:

A federal jury has convicted a woman of running a high-end prostitution ring that catered to members of Washington's political elite.

The verdict against Deborah Jeane Palfrey was announced in a courtroom Tuesday afternoon.

Palfrey has repeatedly denied the escort service engaged in prostitution, and that any sex acts happened without her knowledge. Palfrey caused a sensation last year when she announced that she would sell her phone records to news outlets to pay for her defense.

But the trial didn't reveal many new details about the service or the identities of its clientele. Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana was linked to the case but didn't testify.

Well, even if it wasn't as explosive as expected, the trial yielded up a few new juicy details. Like the fact that one of Palfrey's escorts was a former professor and university department chair. Or the fact that Palfrey's prostitution service was patronized by several well-pedigreed lawyers (including Yale law grad Christopher Sorrow, who is presumably pretty sorrowful about being involved in this mess). Or the fact that Palfrey employed "testers," like trial witness Paul Huang, to evaluate the suitability of aspiring escorts (think "Consume-Ho Reports").

And the show's not over just yet. Palfrey has made a spectacle of herself from the start of this case, and we still have a sentencing and possible appeal to look forward to. So stay tuned.

Woman convicted of running Washington prostitution service [AP]
Professor for Hire [Inside Higher Ed via TaxProf Blog]
Four Former Call Girls Testify at Palfrey Trial [Washington Post]

Former Lawyer of the Day Louisiana Senator David Vitter is having a bad week, and it's only Tuesday. The Legal Times reported yesterday that he may have to testify in the scandalous "D.C. Madam" trial. Vitter confessed last year to being a client of the escort service run by the so-called "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

A congressman testifying in a prostitution trial is going to make headlines, even with Eliot Spitzer around to monopolize the prostitution scandal spotlight. Vitter has made it worse by committing "a hit and run" while running away from the media, asking questions about the trial. From the Gonzales Weekly Citizen:

A car carrying U.S. Sen. David Vitter ran into a No Parking sign in the Gonzales Police Department parking lot Monday morning as the senator was attempting to evade members of the media, including the Gonzales Weekly Citizen, following a Town Hall forum event at Gonzales City Hall.

No one was injured in the incident, but the car - in which Vitter was a passenger - sped away from the scene with visible, but light damage following the wreck.

The sign was encased in an orange safety cone and cemented into the driveway. The sign did not appear to be damaged in the incident.

It seems like an exaggeration to describe hitting a No Parking sign as a "hit and run." Thank goodness for broadcast news, which captured the accident on video. It's a surprisingly violent collision. Vitter gets points though for driving what looks to be a fairly eco-friendly car!

'Shock and Awe' in D.C. Madam Case [Legal Times]
Vitter driver wrecks into sign after Gonzales forum [Gonzales Weekly Citizen via Politico]
Vitter's driver knocks down stop sign following press conference [4WWL]

So Governor Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to speak in half an hour. We'll cover that when it happens. Meanwhile, a tipster points out:

Little notice has been given so far to the other "Client Xs" in the federal complaint at the center of the Spitzer prostitution scandal. But one story semi-buried in the Post this morning certainly perked up our ears at the Court of Appeals!

The money quote:

"The feds' sensational criminal complaint listing 10 'clients' allegedly includes a top New York judge and even a former law-enforcement official and longtime pal of the disgraced governor, two sources said."

So even if Governor Spitzer exits the political stage today, the fun may not be over yet. The Emperors Club may be a gift that keeps on giving.

HOOKER BOOKER HAD LIST FULL OF BIGWIGS [New York Post]

The scandal surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who allegedly patronized prostitutes, raises an interesting issue. It surfaced in some of the comments to yesterday's posts, and it's raised in the defense of Governor Spitzer offered by his former law professor, Alan Dershowitz, on CNN:

"I don't think he should face criminal charges for federal charges for the actual sex act itself.... I know nothing about the financial aspects of it. But this is a traditional state misdemeanor case. And, if anything, he should be charged with a class-B misdemeanor, which is a very, very slight offense, because being a john to an adult prostitute who was making $3,000 to $4,000 or $5,000 sounds to me very much like a victimless crime."

This raises the question: Should prostitution even be a crime?

Of course, some of the outrage over Governor Spitzer's case relates to potential hypocrisy. As New York Attorney General, he prosecuted prostitution rings, and condemned them in harsh language. But setting aside the hypocrisy issue, should what he's accused of doing be a criminal offense?

Or should prostitution perhaps be decriminalized? Take our poll:

Guess we picked our Lawyer of the Day too soon.

Update (2:30 PM): Press conference scheduled for 2:15 p.m., but Governor Spitzer is running 15 minutes late. "I don't blame him," said Ben Smith of the Politico, interviewed just now on CNN.

Update (2:35 PM): Jeffrey Toobin, who was an HLS classmate of Eliot Spitzer, described the news as "a total shock." He said Spitzer has been "nothing but a straight arrow" for many years.

Update (2:50 PM): Still no press conference. Brooke Masters, author of Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer, was just interviewed on CNN. She noted that this scandal comes at a bad time for Spitzer politically, in the wake of last year's scandal involving his misuse of the State Police for political purposes.

Update (3 PM): We're stepping away for a bit, to give a talk at Stanford Law School. We'll be back online as soon as we can. Some content will be posted while we're gone (material prepared ahead of time, not Spitzer updates).

Developing... Check back for updates.

Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring [New York TImes]

* New accounting rules for M&A. [DealBook]

* Lilly contemplates $1 billion payment to settle civil and criminal investigations relating to its marketing of Zyprexa. [New York Times]

* NYPD officer accused of pimping child. [MSNBC]

* Ex-priest jailed for murder via exorcism. [CNN]

* Indiana man arrested for making his own crosswalk. [The Indy Channel]

* Nader takes steps toward another run for the presidency in 2008. [Bloomberg]

* A PSA for Blackberry Pearl users on the T-Mobile network. Also, Theresa sounds deliciously evil. [PrawfsBlawg]

* "Senator Obama, we knew Jack Kennedy, and you, Senator, are--well, dude, you were two-years-old...." [What About Clients?]

* "Lessons from Mary-Kategate: Why Lawyers Should Not Engage in Media Relations." And we agree wholeheartedly with this statement: "the ability to get under powerful people’s skin. If ever there was a talent valued among tabloid journalists, that’s got to be it." [Starkman & Associates]

* DLA Piper to launch an in-house version of Facebook. But can you play Scrabulous on it? [Legal Blog Watch]

* It's hard out here in a courtroom for a pimp, proceeding pro se. [11Alive.com]

* Oregon Supreme Court puts kibosh on unkindest cut. [Blogonaut]

* Blawg Review #144, with a Lord of the Rings theme. [Cyberlaw Central via Blawg Review]

We've written a fair amount about D. Marvin Jones, the University of Miami law professor who has been accused of soliciting an undercover officer for sex. He allegedly offered her a tantalizing $20 for her services.

But a picture is worth a thousand words. And a picture is what's been making the rounds among UM students and alumni, via email. The tipster who sent the graphic to us introduced it as follows:

I graduated from UM Law (embarrassing, I know).... [But] I actually have a job.

I hate UM. After [redacted] for undergrad, UM Law was a joke. I’m embarrassed that I went here.

Anyway, this pic is amazing. Please publish it. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s awesome.

Now, we realize that Professor Jones is a popular figure on the UM Law campus. We acknowledge that he merely stands accused of wrongdoing; he hasn't been convicted of anything. And we know that many ATL readers have rather delicate sensibilities, especially for the readers on an online legal tabloid. If you're highly sensitive to criticism of Professor Jones, or if you are easily offended, then please stop reading here.

But if you have no particular attachment to Professor Jones, and if you have a reasonably high tolerance for irreverent, crass, politically incorrect humor, then check out what lies after the jump.

It's time for a brief update on the possibly propositioning professor, D. Marvin Jones of the University of Miami School of Law. We first reported the news of his arrest for allegedly soliciting a prostitute last week.

Now it's in the Miami Herald. Most of the piece will be familiar to those of you who read our coverage. But the article does include some new material, including comment from the law school:

A law school spokeswoman declined to comment on the arrest Thursday, but the school's dean, Dennis Lynch, told The Miami Hurricane student newspaper he was aware of the charge against Jones.

''He is a respected member of our law school community, and the validity of the charges will be determined through the appropriate judicial proceedings,'' Lynch said, according to The Hurricane. ``I mean, he's only been charged.''

Jones pleaded not guilty to the solicitation charge last month and has requested a trial, court records show. If convicted of the second-degree misdemeanor, Jones would face up to 60 days in jail.

Dean Lynch, by the way, is stepping down (but related in no way to L'Affaire Jones). Considering the weird publicity the school has been experiencing lately -- see examples collected here -- we don't blame him. We've been hearing about a fair amount of infighting over there, which we may report on in the future.

P.S. Speaking of UM, we'd love to interview the law students featured here and here. If you know either or both students, please convey our invitation to them. Thanks.

UM prof accused of offering money for sex [Miami Herald]

As we first reported yesterday, Professor D. Marvin Jones, who teaches constitutional law and criminal procedure (!) at the University of Miami law school, has been arrested for solicitation of a prostitute. Here's an interesting tidbit, from Blogonaut:

Professor Jones is the author of Race, Sex, and Suspicion: The Myth of the Black Male. Dare we predict a racially based defense? Or perhaps the good professor was merely researching a new book?

Some of you asked for more details about the alleged conduct. We've gotten on our hands on the incident report, which appears below. Note the tension between (1) Professor Jones's pimpin' ride, a Mercedes SL500, and (2) his alleged offer of a mere $20 to the "undercover officer possing [sic] as a prostitute."

Law professors don't make as much as Biglaw partners. But surely the driver of a Mercedes could be a little more generous!

University of Miami Law Professor Arrested for Soliciting Prostitution [Blogonaut]
Race, Sex, and Suspicion: The Myth of the Black Male [Amazon]
D. Marvin Jones bio [University of Miami School of Law]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: D. Marvin Jones

Several commenters to our recent post about the University of Miami law student who got benchslapped on the People's Court pointed out another news development involving the law school: the recent arrest and arraignment of a popular professor, D. Marvin Jones, on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting a prostitute. See here:

Check out his bio (which rather pretentiously describes Professor Jones as a "public intellectual"). He teaches Criminal Procedure, of all things. If there's any technical defect in his arrest, we're sure the good professor will be able to get himself off.

Professor Jones: If you're looking to score some ass, why not stick to the U. Miami student body? At least they won't charge.

Alas, we don't have the dirty details of this incident. If you know more, please email us. Thanks.

D. Marvin Jones bio [University of Miami School of Law]

Earlier: Wherein Judge Milian Dispels the Stereotype of the Feisty Latina

* Check it out: the Los Angeles Daily Journal has a brand new blog. Welcome to the blogosphere, Mr. Hurley! [Washington Briefs]

* Don't you wish you had attended a non-top-tier non-T14 law school? At U. Conn. Law, Professor Robert Birmingham (at right) screens prostitution training films in class. [TaxProf Blog]

* ESPN's Stephen Smith lawyers up, retaining Willie Gary -- a/k/a the "$22,000 an Hour Man." [FishBowl NY]

* Fake Lawyer of the Day. [AP]

* Dubious Lawsuit of the Day. [Orlando Sentinel]

* Another interesting interview with Jeffrey Toobin, author of the bestselling Supreme Court book, The Nine. [On the Media / NPR]

The Hostess with the Mostest (Hos), alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey, continues to make news. First, she's advancing an interesting new defense. From Big Head DC:

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the accused “DC Madam,” filed a memo with DC’s U.S. District Court today, detailing her plans to move forward with a “Honey Pot” defense, under the representation of lawyer Montgomery Blair Sibley.

The memo alleges that “the United States Government has been directly or indirectly benefiting from the operation of her service by monitoring her customers and is thus equitably barred from prosecuting her,” according to Sibley.

And government officials were "benefiting from the operation of her service" in other ways, too.

Speaking of which, here's more bad news for Sen. David Vitter. From the AP:

A former New Orleans prostitute who says she had an affair with Sen. David Vitter has passed a lie-detector test and will provide details of the four-month relationship at a press conference Tuesday, according to Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

Wendy Cortez, whose real name is Wendy Ellis, says she had a sexual relationship with Vitter, R-La., in 1999, when he was a state legislator.

Sounds juicy. Stay tuned.

“DC Madam” Files “Honey Pot” Defense; Names New High-Ranking Govt. Official Who Used Escort Service [Big Head DC]
Flynt Unveiling More Vitter Claims [AP via WTOP]

Earlier this year, we devoted extensive coverage to the Akin Gump Escort. She was the legal secretary at Akin Gump who worked for powerhouse lawyer John Dowd by day, and alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey by night.

Courtesy of WTOP, we now know more about the close working relationship between the Akin Gump Escort and the D.C. Madam:

"Why did you do this to me? I never did anything to you."

That accusatory two-sentence e-mail from alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey to an escort she considered her "little sister" and one of her most trusted confidantes came moments after Palfrey realized her assets had been frozen by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

"My first thought because of the timing was that (Jennifer) was working with the government," writes Palfrey, in a series of e-mails to WTOP.

"Jennifer" was the name escort customers knew for a legal secretary at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a prominent D.C. law firm. The woman was fired in May 2007, shortly after revealing to the firm that she had moonlighted for Palfrey's Pamela Martin & Associates between 2002 and 2006.

Fired? She should have been promoted, due to her intimate knowledge of servicing clients.

More discussion after the jump.

We monitor our site traffic closely. We pay attention to reader comments and emails, but our traffic stats are what we care about the most.

Our tracking software allows us to see what brings readers to ATL. Earlier today, a web surfer accessed this site by running the following Google search (for which ATL is apparently the second search result):

i went to a massage parlor yesterday in san francisco but i paid too much money. Now I'm horny as ever and I want to find a women to do it for free. Can you please help me google?

Doubtful. Maybe try Craigslist?

* Let's just steal Drudge's tagline: "JUDGE: PLAME HAS NO GAME." [Washington Post; Associated Press]

(But she does bear an uncanny resemblance to Patricia Wettig, who plays Holly Harper on Brothers and Sisters. See photos at right.)

* A lawsuit against Hillary's pollster, Mark Penn, has been dropped. [AP]

(Watch out: your employer might be reading your Blackberry messages.)

* Lots of lawyers among the D.C. Madam's clientele. [CNN]

("[B]ut of course in Washington it sometimes feels like everyone is a lawyer.")

* Escalation in the battle over executive privilege. [Washington Post]

(Bush Administration to Congress: "You wanna prosecute us for contempt? You and what prosecutor?")

We've appended short updates to the original posts. But in case you didn't see them, here are postscripts to the stories of two Louisiana lawyers with possibly problematic sexual appetites: Senator David Vitter, and recent UGA law grad Philip Pirie.

With respect to Senator Vitter, a source notes:

Check out this NOLA.com post. The owner of the Canal Street brothel in New Orleans came forward to say David Vitter had been a customer. Apparently she decided to speak out because of the bad press he has been getting. She wanted to clear his name because he was not into drugs, not into kinky sex, was nice to the hookers, etc.

With defenders like this, who needs attackers?

With respect to Philip Pilie, a tipster tells us:

"Apparently Philip is still planning on taking the bar Saturday. He was also engaged. Don't know if it is still on or not."

And you thought your bar exam experience was stressful.

Former madam says Vitter was a client at Canal Street brothel [NOLA.com]

Earlier: A Bad Way To Procrastinate While Studying for the Bar
Lawyer of the Day: Sen. David Vitter
A Vitter Video Worth Watching

Here's a quick follow-up on yesterday's Lawyer of the Day -- Senator David Vitter (R-LA), who recently confessed to having been a client of the escort service run by the so-called "D.C. Madam," Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Check out this video, put together by the TPM crew. These were our favorite parts:

1. Vitter's daughter: "Way to move it, Dad!"

2. Sen. Vitter: "In life's most important moments, we're not Republicans or Democrats. We're parents."

Or, more accurately, philandering spouses.

3. The senator's wife, Wendy Vitter (also noted by various commenters):

"I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."

If the Ginsu guy rings your doorbell, Senator Vitter, you'd best send him packing.

Update: Another ex-madam has fingered Sen. Vitter. See here.

Vitter Va-Va-Voom! [TPMtv / Talking Points Memo]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: David Vitter