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Judge Denies Double Jeopardy Motion In Troy Kelley Case

Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley
Washington Legislature
Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley

Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley was back in federal court Friday. He’s facing a second trial next year for charges related to his past real estate services business. His first trial ended with the jury acquitting him of making a false statement to the IRS but deadlocked on all other counts.

Kelley’s defense team was asking a judge to throw out six other tax-related charges. They tried to argue that if Kelley was acquitted by the jury of lying to an IRS agent about his tax returns then by default he didn’t falsify his tax returns and he should be acquitted of those charges -- and if he was to be retried on those charges it would amount to double jeopardy.

The judge didn’t go for it. The defense said it will immediately appeal on this point to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and that appeal could take up to a year which could delay Kelley’s retrial which is scheduled for next March.

Kelley is not running for re-election and will leave office in January.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."