A lawsuit that Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright has pending against the Office of the State Auditor will remain in Cumberland County Superior Court, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday.
The litigation stems from the State Auditor Office’s attempt to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Wright sued the Auditor Office in Cumberland County Superior Court in May 2023 to try to stop the investigation. His lawsuit alleges the Office of the State Auditor has no authority to investigate the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The Auditor Office sought to get Wright’s lawsuit dismissed or moved from Cumberland County to Wake County on the premise that under the state laws that govern where a lawsuit shall be filed, Wright’s lawsuit should be handled by the courts in Wake County.
A judge in Cumberland County Superior Court ruled against the Auditor Office in August of last year, saying that under the court venue laws, Cumberland County Superior Court is appropriate.
The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday agreed.
The Sheriff’s Office is under investigation
Tuesday’s ruling says the Auditor Office contacted Wright in October 2022 and its staff met with him to tell him it was investigating the Sheriff’s Office. The Auditor Office staff wouldn’t say what they were looking for, according to the sheriff’s legal brief.
The Auditor Office staff demanded numerous records, the ruling says.
The Sheriff’s Office said it provided documents that under state law are public records (and thus available to anyone who asks to see them), the ruling says, and refused to provide records that it believes are not subject to North Carolina public records laws.
In March 2023, the Auditor Office subpoenaed the records. The Sheriff’s Office refused to comply with the subpoena, saying it was unlawful. It sued the Auditor Office in May 2023. The Sheriff’s Office contends North Carolina law limits the State Auditor Office to investigation of state agencies, and it asserts the Sheriff’s Office is not a state agency.
With Tuesday’s ruling at the Court of Appeals, the question of whether the Sheriff’s Office is subject to being investigated by the State Auditor Office is still pending, awaiting an answer, in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Other State Auditor investigations
The state Auditor Office is known in Cumberland County for investigations in recent years that uncovered mishandled money and wrongdoing in government entities. Among them:
- In May, the Auditor Office released an audit that reported nearly $700,000 of improper spending at Fayetteville State University. It said the findings were being forwarded to law enforcement.
- An audit of the finances in Spring Lake in 2022 led to criminal charges and the conviction of the town’s finance director. She had embezzled nearly $570,000.
- An audit in 2016 reported Spring Lake employees and town board members spent more than $120,000 of town money on purchases unrelated to town business.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.
