State v. Gibson

622 S.E.2d 729, 175 N.C. App. 223, 2005 N.C. App. LEXIS 2746
Court of Appeals of North Carolina·Decided December 20, 2005·No. No. COA05-548.·Published

Opinion

BRYANT, Judge.

James Charles Gibson (defendant) appeals from a judgment consistent with a felony conviction on 6 January 2005. Defendant pled guilty to attaining the status of an habitual felon and received seventy to ninety-three months imprisonment.

On 10 January 2003, defendant broke into a store at 1:00 a.m. and removed eight cartons of cigarettes. He was arrested and charged with breaking and entering and larceny. Defendant appeals.

Defendant contends the trial court erred in denying a motion to dismiss an habitual felon indictment in violation of the equal protection clause (Fourteenth Amendment) and cruel and unusual punishment clause (Eighth Amendment) under the U.S. Constitution.

Pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-7.1 "any person who has been convicted of or pled guilty to three felony offenses in any federal court or state court in the United States or combination thereof is declared to be an habitual felon." N.C.G.S. § 14-7.1 (2003). In order for a selective prosecution claim to prevail, defendant must show the prosecutorial system was motivated by a discriminatory purpose and had a discriminatory effect. State v. Garner, 340 N.C. 573, 588, 459 S.E.2d 718, 725 (1995); State v. Spicer, 299 N.C. 309, 312, 261 S.E.2d 893, 896 (1980); State v. Wilson, 311 N.C. 117, 123, 316 S.E.2d 46, 51 (1984). To demonstrate such intentional discrimination, the defendant must allege "`that the selection was deliberately based upon an unjustifiable standard such as race, religion, or other arbitrary classification.'" Id. at 123-24, 316 S.E.2d at 51 (quoting Oyler v. Boles, 368 U.S. 448, 456, 82 S.Ct. 501, 506, 7 L.Ed.2d 446, 453 (1962)). In deciding who will and who will not be prosecuted, district attorneys must weigh many factors such as the likelihood of successful prosecution, the social value of obtaining a conviction as against the time and expense to the State, and his own sense of *731justice in the particular case. See State v. Dammons, 159 N.C.App. 284, 583 S.E.2d 606, rev. denied, 357 N.C. 579, 589 S.E.2d 133 (2003), cert. denied, 541 U.S. 951, 124 S.Ct. 1691, 158 L.Ed.2d 382 (2004); see also State v. Cates, 154 N.C.App. 737, 740, 573 S.E.2d 208, 210 (2002) (concluding that it was within the prosecutor's discretion to select among the defendant's prior convictions for purposes of proving his habitual felon status and calculating his prior record level), disc. rev. denied, 356 N.C. 682, 577 S.E.2d 897 (2003). The proper exercise of a prosecutor's broad discretion in his consideration of factors which relate to the administration of criminal justice aids tremendously in achieving the goal of fair and effective administration of the criminal justice system. Spicer, 299 N.C. at 311-12, 261 S.E.2d at 895.

In the present case, defendant was prosecuted in Moore County and asserts he has been selectively prosecuted as an habitual felon. To support his claim, defendant states that there have been substantially more convictions of habitual felon indictments in Moore County than there have been in Randolph County over a nine-year period. Defendant argues that because the District Attorney of Moore County has a policy of prosecuting all persons potentially eligible for habitual felon status, such persons are treated differently in Moore County from the way similarly situated persons are treated in other North Carolina counties, counties where an habitual felon prosecution may or may not occur. Defendant argues he belongs to a protected class of individuals that can be precisely described and that a fundamental right is involved.

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State v. Gibson, 622 S.E.2d 729, 175 N.C. App. 223, 2005 N.C. App. LEXIS 2746 (N.C. Ct. App. 2005).

622 S.E.2d 729 (State v. Gibson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Oyler v. Boles
368 U.S. 448 (Supreme Court, 1962)
State v. Garner
459 S.E.2d 718 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1995)
State v. Parks
560 S.E.2d 355 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2002)
State v. Spicer
261 S.E.2d 893 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1980)
State v. Hensley
577 S.E.2d 417 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2003)
State v. Wilson
533 S.E.2d 865 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2000)
State v. Parks
553 S.E.2d 695 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2001)
State v. Dammons
583 S.E.2d 606 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2003)
State v. Dammons
589 S.E.2d 133 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2003)
State v. Wilson
316 S.E.2d 46 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1984)
State v. Cates
573 S.E.2d 208 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2002)
State v. Carpenter
577 S.E.2d 897 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2003)