DELAWARE--State Auditor Kathleen McGuiness' corruption trial in New Castle County has been dismissed, meaning all charges against her have been temporarily dropped with hopes of re-indicting her in Kent County.
The move comes after day one of the 'State of Delaware v. Kathleen McGuiness' trial where the state auditor's defense team asked Superior Court Judge William Carpenter Jr. to dismiss the indictment.
Kathy McGuiness’ Attorney Steven Wood told the judge Tuesday that the indictment was defected because, according to Wood, the alleged crimes McGuiness is accused of did not take place in New Castle County. The Department of Justice however, said jurisdiction lies in New Castle because she’s a statewide-elected official.
The 'State v. Kathleen McGuiness' jury trial began Tuesday and only lasted close to two hours before the judge decided to conclude the day.
McGuiness sat without expression and remained silent as prosecutors argued that she was serving all three counties—Kent, Sussex and New Castle--and the effects by her actions were felt across the state.
Judge Carpenter said he felt the indictment had sufficient information and was not willing to dismiss it. Leaving it instead up to DOJ Mark Denney and his team to evaluate their evidence.
After almost an hour of deliberation, without jurors in sight, the judge concluded the first day of the trial stating that it was clear that "some significant decisions" needed to be made.
On Tuesday evening Judge Carpenter announced through a court spokesperson that “there will be no in-court proceedings" as originally scheduled for Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday morning, Judge Carpenter issued a statement through the court saying, " The State has entered a Nolle Prosequi without prejudice and has indicated it will submit the case involving Kathleen McGuiness to the Kent County Grand Jury on Monday, June 6, 2022. If an indictment is returned, the Court will confer with counsel in establishing a new date for trial."
Essentially, that means that the case has now been dropped in New Castle Co.; prosecutors were allowed to drop case without prejudice, meaning there is no double jeopardy, allowing prosecutors to drop case and bring it back at any point in time. Next Monday, the grand jury will meet in Kent Co. and will likely re-indict McGuiness and start the process all over again, including the process of selecting an entirely new set of jurors.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings had nothing to say about the McGuiness case Wednesday afternoon when WRDE News asked at an unrelated news conference in Dover.
"Absolutely no comment on that," she said. "You knew I was going to say that."
Jennings first announced the charges against McGuiness last October. McGuiness was indicted on five criminal charges for the alleged misuse of public funds, including: violation of the state's official code of conduct, felony theft, non compliance with procurement law, official misconduct, and witness intimidation.
Attorney Wood told WRDE News Wednesday afternoon he nor McGuiness have any comment on the developments in the case.
McGuiness had previously filed a motion on March 11 asking Superior Court Judge William Carpenter Jr. to dismiss the act of intimidation offense. The motion was discussed, but not formerly considered at the hearing on April 7.
In the past, Wood told WRDE News the indictment is full of misleading statements and half-truths and parts of it is "pure fiction."
McGuiness continues to deny all accusations against her.
The Delaware Department of Justice said the investigation began a year ago, after about 12 whistleblowers came forward.
If convicted on all counts, Kathleen McGuiness could face up to 13 years in prison.