DOVER, Del. - The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed one count and reversed another in the ongoing corruption trial against former state auditor Kathy McGuiness.
Justice Abigail LeGrow penned the majority opinion shared Tuesday, which says McGuiness received a fair trial overall but that her conviction for official misconduct must be reversed due to legal insufficiency. The court upheld her conflict of interest conviction for her role in hiring her daughter and giving her a "position with advantages unavailable to other employees."
Chief Justice Collins Seitz Jr. concurred in part and dissented in part from the majority, saying the Superior Court did not plainly err when it found that the evidence relevant to non-compliance with procurement law would support a conviction under official misconduct.
"After more than two years of endless litigation and theatrical rhetoric, the bottom line is that a jury, a Superior Court judge and now the Delaware Supreme Court have all concluded that the ex-auditor's actions were criminal," said Attorney General Kathy Jennings in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Though the official misconduct count is being reversed, McGuiness and her legal team don't see it as a big victory.
"Obviously we are disappointed by the decision but we respect it," said Steve Wood, McGuiness' lawyer. "We are grateful that we had an opportunity to present our arguments to the court."
CASE HISTORY
In 2022, prosecutors argued that McGuiness abused her position as state auditor by hiring her daughter, structuring payments under a consulting contract to avoid accounting scrutiny and intimidating employees who cooperated with investigators. A jury convicted her of three misdemeanor charges for official misconduct, conflict of interest and violation of state procurement rules, however, Judge William Carpenter Jr. tossed out the structuring verdict in finalizing the conviction. She was acquitted of felony public corruption charges.
The conflict of interest charge involved the hiring of McGuiness' daughter as a part-time employee in the auditor’s office. McGuinness also was convicted of structuring payments to a consulting firm to avoid having to get them approved by the Division of Accounting. The structuring and conflict of interest convictions laid the foundation for jurors to also find McGuiness guilty of official misconduct.
The trial marked the first time in Delaware history that a sitting statewide elected official was convicted on criminal charges. CoastTV's exclusive interview with McGuiness can be watched here.
Despite her legal battles, McGuiness continued on during the 2022 election season. She was defeated in the September 2022 Democratic primary by current auditor Lydia York. McGuiness then resigned in October 2022 on the day of her sentencing.
In May 2023 she appealed her conviction to the Delaware Supreme Court. Her lawyer, Steve Wood, said she was appealing on the basis of being denied her right to a fair trial. He told CoastTV News that the State failed to provide information in a timely manner that could have served to clear her from guilt and that "irrelevant and improper character evidence" was allowed to be presented by the state during the trial.
McGuiness sued members of the Delaware Department of Justice, including Attorney General Kathy Jennings, in August 2023, alleging defamation and violation of her constitutional rights under the fourth and 14th amendments during her 2022 case and conviction.
McGuiness' appeal was heard by the Delaware Supreme Court in November 2023. Her attorney argued she was the victim of a biased investigation, prosecutorial misconduct, and erroneous rulings by the judge.
In Tuesday's opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court referred to McGuiness' arguments as "inflamed rhetoric" and wrote "the record amply demonstrates that she received a fair trial." However, the judges wrote there was a "spillover of evidence that prejudiced the jury’s consideration of a closely linked charge."
WHAT'S NEXT
Delaware prosecutors will now have to decide whether to have a new trial in the reversed official misconduct charge. A Department of Justice spokesperson told CoastTV News that will be decided in the coming days.