Criminal Practice – Involuntary Manslaughter – Death by Vehicle – Simultaneous Prosecution – G.S. § 20-141.4(c)

State v. Elmore (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-07-1240, 9 pp.) (Linda M. McGee, J.) Appealed from Catawba County Superior Court (Robert T. Sumner, J.) N.C. App.

Holding: Although G.S. § 20-141.4(c) says no one who has been placed in jeopardy on a charge of death by vehicle may be prosecuted for manslaughter arising out of the same death, what the statute means is that no one can be sentenced for both offenses.

We find no error in defendant’s conviction of involuntary manslaughter.

G.S. § 20-141.4(c) provides, “No Double Prosecutions. — No person who has been placed in jeopardy upon a charge of death by vehicle may be prosecuted for the offense of manslaughter arising out of the same death; and no person who has been placed in jeopardy upon a charge of manslaughter may be prosecuted for death by vehicle arising out of the same death.”

We conclude that the General Assembly’s intent was to abrogate the holding of State v. Freeman, 31 N.C. App. 93, 228 S.E.2d 516 (1976), as noted in State v.

Davis, 198 N.C. App. 443, 680 S.E.2d 239 (2009), to wit: the General Assembly intended that “under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20–141.4(c) a defendant may not be sentenced for both involuntary manslaughter and felony death by vehicle arising out of the same death.” To hold otherwise would involve an overly literal interpretation of § 20-141.4(c), and our Supreme Court has disfavored the overly literal interpretation of statutes contrary to legislative intent.

The trial court did not err in denying defendant’s pre-trial motion to dismiss.