By Craig Anderson

WILMINGTON — The high-profile case against Delaware Auditor Kathleen McGuiness may now stretch for months longer than expected.

At the end of a two-plus-hour hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge William C. Carpenter Jr. announced his concern about opening the trial May 16, citing motions that remain pending — including those to dismiss two counts — and that the case is “too serious to rush the process.”

Thus, the judge informed the prosecution and defense teams that the trial could be moved until late summer or early fall.

He also acknowledged Ms. McGuiness’ presumed desire to move forward to trial, to which her attorney, Steve Wood, replied that he would object to any continuance “much past the end of June.”

Besides the unresolved issues in the auditor’s case, Judge Carpenter also referenced a packed schedule due to the pandemic, along with time he needs to handle at least two murder trials.

He said a delay could occur, “as long as it’s not extremely unreasonable.”

As it stood Thursday, a final case review is scheduled April 25, followed by jury selection May 12-13 and the trial opening May 16. The proceedings are currently set for two weeks.

In October 2021, Ms. McGuiness was indicted on charges of felony act of intimidation and theft, along with misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest as a violation of the state officials’ code of conduct; structuring as noncompliance with procurement law; and official misconduct.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

On Thursday, inside the seventh-floor courtroom at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, Mr. Wood argued against the validity of the conflict of interest, structuring and intimidation counts against his client. He asked the judge to dismiss the structuring and intimidation counts, but he did not rule on those requests.

Additionally — because the conflict-of-interest charge stems from the auditor hiring her daughter — he requested that the state provide more documents regarding high-level elected officials and hires within their departments who might have contributed to their campaigns. State government is rife with the practice of nepotism, he maintained, and, while that is not a crime in itself, it has never before been used to prosecute someone in Delaware.

Ms. McGuiness was reindicted by a grand jury last week. Though the charges were unchanged, they extended claims of her official misconduct through March 25, 2022.

The Department of Justice says the auditor engaged in wrongdoing that began on or about Jan. 1, 2019. More description of the charges against her were included, as well.

Mr. Wood and Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney declined comment following the hearing. A gag order mandating that no one involved in the case speak publicly on it was placed shortly after the indictment last fall.