Appeals Court Upholds Former County Commissioner Kincaid-chauncey's Conviction
Las Vegas, Nev. – Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the fraud, bribery and extortion convictions of former Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, announced Greg Brower, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Following an eight-week jury trial, Kincaid-Chauncey, 70, was convicted on May 8, 2006, of multiple counts of honest services fraud for accepting bribes while she was a county commissioner. She was sentenced to 32 months in prison and appealed her conviction. Kincaid-Chauncey argued that the Nevada federal trial court erred by precluding her from calling certain witnesses and by giving inaccurate instructions to the jury.
In today's written opinion, authored by Circuit Judge Jay S. Bybee, the Ninth Circuit concluded that the District Court's exclusion of certain witnesses did not deprive Kincaid-Chauncey of due process or her constitutional right to present a defense, and that the jury instructions were adequate.
Kincaid-Chauncey is currently serving the remainder of her sentence in the Las Vegas Community Corrections Center, and is scheduled for release on March 15, 2009.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Schiess, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney David Malagold prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Schiess briefed and argued the appeal on behalf of the United States.
