[Stepan12]

That is correct! If one picks up a hooker in Las Vegas, one does it at one's legal peril (unless, I guess, if one happens to be a powerful Democrat); however, Reno is not in Clark Country (the county that contains Las Vegas).

Maybe the states should decide if they want to legalize prostitution or not.

[logician2u]

Better still, make it a local decision how this kind of "crime" should be dealt with. That's how I believe Nevada handles prostitution, gambling, etc., in the absence of a prohibitory state law.

As if Las Vegas (Clark County) LEOs don't have enough to handle with the casinos and hotels and millions of visitors from every corner of the world every year, maybe they'd rather not be trying to distinguish between "legal" hookers and the amateurs who allegedly flock (sp?) there during big conventions and trade shows. Arrest them all and there will be no confusion.

This anti-hooker attitude also contributes to the "family-friendly" image Las Vegas is trying to cultivate. The rest of the state could care less about image.

Such local option should not apply, of course, to real crimes such as kidnapping, rape, assault, murder, theft, arson, etc., for which the accused would be tried in a state court and imprisoned in a state prison if found guilty. (Could you imagine the impact on prisons if hookers were thrown in the joint with rapists, murderers and convicted child molesters?)