A judge gave former V.I. Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal a one-week extension to coordinate with her new attorney before surrendering to federal Bureau of Prisons custody on July 1.
U.S. District Judge Mark Kearney sentenced O’Neal to seven years in prison two weeks ago and originally ordered her to surrender by Tuesday. Last week, O’Neal asked the judge for an eight-week stay while she sought to replace her attorney, Dale Lionel Smith, and prepare to appeal her December conviction on charges of wire fraud, bribery and money laundering conspiracy. In a letter dismissing Smith as her attorney, O’Neal said she had “serious concerns about the quality and attentiveness” of his representation, and she cited missed filing deadlines and instances during trial where she felt that her concerns, instructions and “knowledge of the facts were not being heard or incorporated into my defense.”
Friction between the two came into public view on the morning of O’Neal’s sentencing hearing, during which she claimed to have learned for the first time that Smith had not filed a sentencing request or character letters on O’Neal’s behalf despite a court order. She told Kearney that she had “issues” with her representation, and the court took a brief, three-hour recess. Afterward, she said she was prepared to continue with sentencing. O’Neal reiterated her qualms about Smith’s representation when asking for a stay and also claimed to have “several medical issues that require immediate medical appointments.”
On Monday, Kearney noted that O’Neal “did not raise health concerns before or during sentencing” and that her arguments for appeal are “presumably” the same arguments raised during her trial and in her subsequent motion for acquittal, which Kearney denied in May. He also noted that while O’Neal “now admits long-standing concerns with her trial counsel,” she agreed to proceed with her sentencing on June 11.
Kearney granted O’Neal a one-week extension “to interview counsel from her continued home detention” and added that she will also be able to speak to her attorney while in custody — “as is customary in custody.”
She was ordered to surrender to the United States Marshal’s Office on St. Thomas by no later than 2 p.m. on July 1.
