State v. Pope
213 N.C. App. 413
N.C. Ct. App.2011Background
- Dennis Wayne Pope was the Public Works Director for the Town of Coats and supervised the collection and sale of town “white goods.”
- The town’s practice involved selling scrap metal including old appliances, with proceeds deposited to a common fund controlled by Pope and other officials, which Pope increasingly controlled personally.
- In 2009 Pope directed employees to collect and sell white goods; no receipts indicated remittance to the town for that year.
- Police investigation by Jaggers, concerns about local political overtones led to SBI involvement and an indictment for four counts of felonious larceny by employee.
- Pope moved for relief from selective prosecution, alleging other town employees benefited from similar conduct but were not charged; the trial court dismissed with prejudice.
- The State appealed the pretrial dismissal, and the appellate court proceeded to address selective prosecution and entrapment-by-estoppel as grounds for reversal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was the trial court correct to dismiss for selective prosecution? | State contends Pope showed others similarly situated not charged. | Pope argues political motivation and selective enforcement. | No; dismissal was error; Pope did not prove selectivity and bad faith. |
| Did entrapment-by-estoppel bar prosecution? | State asserts no explicit government authorization; estoppel not established. | Pope claims government assurances made conduct permissible. | Error to base dismissal on entrapment-by-estoppel; no explicit assurances shown. |
Key Cases Cited
- Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (U.S. 1886) (equal protection in enforcement leading to denial of justice)
- State v. Howard, 78 N.C.App. 262, 337 S.E.2d 598 (N.C.App. 1985) (selective enforcement requires discrimination in prosecution)
- United States v. Aquino-Chacon, 109 F.3d 936 (4th Cir. 1997) (entrapment-by-estoppel requires explicit governmental assurance)
- Raley v. Ohio, 360 U.S. 423 (U.S. 1959) (entrapment-by-estoppel requires active misleading assurances)
- State v. Williams, 362 N.C. 628, 669 S.E.2d 290 (N.C. 2008) (standard of review for trial court findings of fact and conclusions of law)