After nine hours of jury deliberation, former Salt Lake County mayor Nancy Workman was acquitted of felony misuse of public money Thursday morning.
Workman raised her fists in triumph and relief as the court clerk read "not guilty" to both counts, one for each employee she hired to work at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Valley using county money.
"It's against my rules to cry, (but) it was a little too much," Workman said after she walked out of 3rd District Court a free woman. She fought back tears as she mouthed "thank you" to the eight-member jury and embraced defense attorneys Greg Skordas and Jack Morgan.
After the verdict was read, and after a long session of answering questions from media reporters and walking to the elevators of the Matheson Courthouse, Workman waited for the doors to close before she let out a loud scream, releasing the emotions accumulated over more than seven months of investigation, felony charges, forced administrative leave, withdrawal from her re-election race and a six-day trial.
"I've got to sit down and get my knees together, stop shaking, give my husband a hug," she said.
Special prosecutor Mike Martinez said he was "a little" surprised by the outcome, but said the jury "did a fair and admirable job." He shook hands with and congratulated Workman and her attorneys after the verdict.
Responding to a question as to whether the charges were politically motivated (Workman allies contend District Attorney David Yocom was strongly antipathetic toward Workman), Martinez responded, "I don't know. I didn't bring these charges. I was just hired to prosecute them."
Workman's attorneys said they plan to apply to the county for reimbursement of their fees, which Morgan, while declining to name a specific figure, said were "a lot."
Workman had mortgaged her house to pay her legal fees. She said she has used no campaign funds for the purpose.
Over the course of the case, Martinez had extended at least two settlement offers in which Workman would be convicted of one or more misdemeanors instead of felonies — including one offer Thursday morning just before the jury returned its verdict. Skordas said he was inclined to plead the charges down, but Workman, convinced of her ultimate vindication, was adamant that she see the process through to the end.
"I trusted her judgment, and now I do more than ever," Skordas said.
With regard to the fact that the charges truncated her county mayoral career in very public fashion, Workman said one has to keep it all in perspective.
"So what?" she said of her losing her job. "Two felonies. Campaigns are one thing. . . . The scenario was I would be wearing an orange suit and behind bars."
Combined, the charges carried a potential penalty of zero to 20 years in prison.
Workman said she hasn't thought much about the future yet, except for one thing.
"I feel a party coming on."
E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com