Delaware Auditor Kathy McGuiness is likely to be tried in Kent County following some last-minute maneuvering by her defense and state prosecutors.
McGuiness was indicted by a New Castle County Grand Jury in October, formalizing the case accusing her of two felonies and multiple public corruption misdemeanors tied to giving her daughter a job in the auditor’s office, allegedly rigging payments of a state contract to avoid regulatory scrutiny and allegedly intimidating employees positioned to blow a whistle on her actions. She has pleaded not guilty.
The latest maneuvering in the case centers on a technicality about whether state prosecutors should have sought to formalize the case against her in Kent County, where her offices are, rather than New Castle County.
On Tuesday, prosecutors were set to begin presenting trial evidence in McGuiness’ criminal case to a jury of New Castle County residents in Wilmington.
That morning, McGuiness’ attorney formally raised a new challenge: that the state’s case against McGuiness was void because none of the conduct claimed in the indictment against McGuiness happened in New Castle County, where she was indicted and set to be tried.
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Prosecutors disagreed, stating that McGuiness’ status as a statewide-elected official means she could have been legitimately indicted in any of the state’s three counties.
Judge William Carpenter told prosecutors he found their position legally troubling, but he was not going to throw out the case outright. He suggested the case could be tossed after prosecutors present evidence that isn’t tied to New Castle County.
He also suggested the potential of moving the case to Kent County, where McGuiness’ primary office as auditor is in Dover.
Correspondence among prosecutors and Carpenter indicates state officials will delay the trial and seek to convict McGuiness in Kent County.
Technically, that will involve dismissing the case in New Castle County and again presenting evidence to a Grand Jury – this time in Kent County – to formally indict the auditor, who is believed to be the first statewide elected official criminally charged in office.
According to correspondence filed with the court, Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney, the primary prosecutor on the case, told Carpenter that the logistics are in place to reindict McGuiness, pick a new jury of Kent County residents next week and that they are ready to present their case to a jury later that week.
That path could be made more difficult as Steve Wood, McGuiness’ attorney, told the court that if the case is moved to Kent County, he would again be moving to dismiss the entire case based on the delay.
The Grand Jury in Kent County will convene on Monday and, in the likelihood that McGuiness is indicted again, prosecutors, McGuiness’ defense and the judge will confer over when trial will begin.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareon
