The Delaware Supreme Court upholds one conviction against former State Auditor Kathy McGuiness but reverses one other.
McGuiness was convicted of three misdemeanors in July 2022 – conflict of interest, official misconduct, and non-compliance with procurement law by structuring. The structuring charge was dropped before sentencing in October 2022, receiving a year of probation, 500 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.
McGuiness appealed those convictions in March last year. Now the Delaware Supreme Court is reversing the conviction on official misconduct.
Justice Abigail LeGrow, writing for the majority, argues jury instructions came close to treating the conflict of interest and structuring charges as predicate offenses to official misconduct, resulting in “prejudicial spillover,” which addresses whether evidence relating to a vacated conviction affected the jury’s consideration of any remaining, closely linked charges.
Chief Justice Collin Seitz, however, says in the 86-page opinion that he does not agree the official conduct charge should be reversed. He notes McGuiness did not make the “prejudicial spillover” argument before the Superior Court and agrees with the Superior Court's assessment that evidence relevant to the structuring charge could be used to support a conviction under official misconduct.
"The threshold question is whether the State introduced evidence that would have been inadmissible if the trial was limited to the remaining valid count," Seitz writes. "The Superior Court found that the Count III evidence would be admissible as to Count IV. We should defer to that finding and end the inquiry here."
The state now has the option to retry McGuiness on official misconduct alone, but a DOJ spokesperson says the state has not yet made any decision to do so. The spokesperson confirms that no new indictment is needed — the remand effectively transfers the standing indictment back to the Superior Court, so there is no filing required.
McGuiness is now left with one conviction, conflict of interest, which Attorney General Kathy Jennings still sees as a win for the state. She says in a statement that a Superior Court judge, and now the Delaware Supreme Court all concluded that the former State Auditor’s actions were criminal, adding she is grateful for the Court’s judgment, proud of the trial and appeals teams’ work, and “inspired” by the whistleblowers who came forward.
McGuiness’ attorney Steve Wood forwarded a statement from McGuiness, who says she is disappointed by the decision but respects it, adding she is also grateful for the opportunity to present her arguments to the Court.
