Wait…did trading sex for stuff just become legal? If it’s a barter, not a financial transaction? Or if it’s a side gig, like selling stuff on Etsy?

Maybe we’re reading too much into this and God knows we’re sounding too hopeful. But the Philadelphia Inquirer reports Susan Finkelstein, who was found guilty of attempted prostitution in March 2010 after she put an ad on Craigslist suggesting she would trade sex for Phillies World Series tickets, has had that conviction overturned. The PR specialist had placed an ad describing herself, saying her price was “negotiable,” and she was “creative,” only to wind up the victim of an undercover sting.

NBC Sports reports the court’s (no, that hat trick was not planned) note that “Finkelstein was not engaged in ‘sexual activity as a business’ and said the crime of prostitution was not intended to ‘criminalize private illicit sexual relations.’” Finkelstein denied offering favors. She was convicted of attempted prostitution but not the act of prostitution itself.

“The state Superior Court ruled Tuesday that since Finkelstein was cleared of the more serious prostitution count, she could not be convicted of attempt because the proof required to sustain both charges was the same.”

So if the crime of prostitution isn’t meant to criminalize private illicit sexual relations … What is it meant to criminalize? Couldn’t one contend that all sexual relations are private unless you’re doin’ it on the bus or something? And does anyone want to take a creative, negotiable Sex Feed writer to Cannes this year? Privately?