United States v. Jennifer Dixon

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Jennifer Dixon reserved the right to this appeal pursuant to a conditional plea agreement. Dixon challenges the district court’s pretrial ruling that precluded her from asserting entrapment by estoppel as a defense at trial. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review de novo a district court’s decision to exclude evidence of an entrapment by estoppel defense. See United States v. Brebner, 951 F.2d 1017, 1024 (9th Cir.1991). Dixon argues that she was entitled to assert the defense because Boise police officers — who were investigating separate, unrelated crimes — failed to inform her that selling drug paraphernalia was illegal under federal law. Government inaction, however, is insufficient to establish entrapment by estoppel. See United States v. Woodley, 9 F.3d 774, 779 (9th Cir.1993).

Dixon argues that the officers’ silence was an adoptive admission under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(B). However, the district court did not exclude the evidence because it was hearsay; it was excluded because the evidence related only to Dixon’s entrapment by estoppel defense. The officers’ mere silence did not constitute an…