Opinion ID: 793382
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Entrapment by Estoppel and Public Authority Defenses

Text: 17 Both the government and Baker go to great lengths to explain the supposed difference between the entrapment by estoppel defense and the public authority defense. The parties rely heavily on cases from other circuits to argue there is indeed a difference between the two. A review of our own decisions does not reveal much in the way of useful analysis, although this is not surprising. See United States v. Howell, 37 F.3d 1197, 1204 (7th Cir.1994) (explaining how the entrapment by estoppel defense is rarely available); United States v. Pitt, 193 F.3d 751, 756 (3d Cir.1999) (explaining that published decisions pertaining to the defense of public authority are sparse, possibly because reliance on it is rare). In fact, what little discussion there is from our own circuit may indicate the defenses are not separate at all, but that the descriptions are merely synonymous. Cf. United States v. Neville, 82 F.3d 750, 761 (7th Cir.1996) (`[P]ublic authority[]' [is] sometimes called `entrapment by estoppel'[.]). 18 The elements that comprise the two defenses are quite similar. The entrapment by estoppel defense applies when, acting with actual or apparent authority, a government official affirmatively assures the defendant that certain conduct is legal and the defendant reasonably believes that official. Id. As for the public authority defense, other circuits have held the defense applies when a government official authorized the defendant to perform an act that would otherwise be a crime, and the official had the actual authority to grant such authorization. See, e.g., United States v. Fulcher, 250 F.3d 244, 254-55 (4th Cir.2001); Pitt, 193 F.3d at 757-58; United States v. Baptista-Rodriguez, 17 F.3d 1354, 1368 n. 18 (11th Cir.1994); United States v. Duggan, 743 F.2d 59, 83-84 (2d Cir.1984). 19 Most of these cases from other circuits generally limit the public authority defense to those situations in which the government official in fact had the authority to empower the defendant to perform the acts in question. This is despite the language of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12.3(a)(1), which states, If a defendant intends to assert a defense of actual or believed exercise of public authority on behalf of a law enforcement agency ... at the time of the alleged offense, the defendant [must notify the government and the court]. 2 (emphasis added). 20 We have not explicitly stated whether the public authority defense is limited to those situations in which the government official had actual authority, as opposed to simply apparent authority, nor do we need to make such a statement today to resolve Baker's case. As the parties argue it, the only difference between the entrapment by estoppel defense and the public authority defense is that the former requires either actual or apparent authority, while the latter requires only actual authority. 21 We need only address Baker's argument regarding the entrapment by estoppel defense, as that will cover both situations, i.e., a government official with actual authority and one with apparent authority. This does not deprive Baker of anything as far as his arguments go, and saves needlessly delving into an ancillary question that is best saved for another day.