The issue focused largely on procedural rulings made by appellate judges during litigation involving statutes enacted before 1934 that legalized interstate prostitution and decriminalized solicitation for prostitutes in jurisdictions outside New York City. Such rulings permitted prosecutions based on constitutionally unprotected acts performed outside of New York City without imposing liability upon defendants convicted under state laws prohibiting prostitution within the city limits. Defendants contended that courts exceeded their statutory jurisdiction when applying statutory prohibitions against solicitation for prostitutes in jurisdictions outside New York City to prosecute interstate solicitation offenses committed outside of New York City. Because interstate solicitation