Kathy McGuiness

WILMINGTON — The Delaware Attorney General’s Office announced that it won’t retry ex-State Auditor Kathy McGuiness after an invalidated misdemeanor conviction connected to her time in office.

Ms. McGuiness was convicted July 1, 2022, of an official misconduct charge, but it was invalidated by the state Supreme Court two months ago.

In a statement, spokesperson Mat Marshal said, “The State will not seek to again convict the ex-Auditor. A jury found her guilty three times; dragging the witnesses back to trial would have little practical purpose, at the expense of both the Court’s time and the whistleblowers’ peace. Delawareans moved on almost two years ago.

“We have, too.”

In its ruling, issued Feb. 13, the Supreme Court noted that “one of the defendant’s convictions must be reversed because the legal insufficiency of one of the charges (structuring: non-compliance with procurement law) resulted in the spillover of evidence that prejudiced the jury’s consideration of a closely linked charge.”

“We therefore reverse the defendant’s conviction for official misconduct. In all other respects, we affirm the trial court’s decisions and the defendant’s convictions.”

A conflict of interest conviction was upheld, according to the court.

At trial, Ms. McGuiness was also found not guilty of theft and act of intimidation counts, both felonies.

A guilty finding on the misdemeanor structuring count was invalidated by a Superior Court judge and dismissed Aug. 30, 2022.

Ms. McGuiness received probation, a $10,000 fine and community service hours as a result of her conviction. She later lost her bid for reelection.

Her attorney, Steve Wood, was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

In addition, Ms. McGuiness filed a federal lawsuit in September 2023, claiming slander by Delaware officials as the case against her proceeded.