ST. THOMAS — A federal judge has denied a request by convicted former Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal to delay her prison surrender by eight weeks, while granting her a short extension to interview prospective appellate counsel before ordering her to self-surrender on July 1.
In an order issued Monday, District Judge Mark Kearney granted in part and denied in part O’Neal’s motion to reconsider her surrender date, which had been set for Tuesday. Kearney found that O’Neal had not met the legal bar required to be released while her appeal plays out, as the issues identified by her new counsel did not raise a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal or a new trial. The judge noted that the arguments her new attorney flagged as potential grounds for appeal were the same ones raised at trial and repeated in a post-trial motion, which Kearney rejected in a lengthy ruling in May.
Kearney also noted that while O’Neal now cites longstanding concerns about the quality of her trial counsel, she agreed to proceed with sentencing after further consideration at her June 11 sentencing hearing. The order also found that O’Neal had not raised any health concerns before or during sentencing, nor in correcting her Presentence Investigation Report, and that those concerns were being raised for the first time in seeking the delay.
This all comes on the heels of O’Neal’s June 11 sentencing, where she raised concerns over her representation by attorney Dale Lionel Smith. Three days after sentencing, on June 14, O’Neal formally terminated Smith in a letter filed on the court’s docket. In it, she cited serious concerns about the quality and attentiveness of his representation throughout the case. Most significantly, O’Neal wrote that she had repeatedly asked Smith to file a motion to separate her trial from that of co-defendant Ray Martinez. She further indicated that Smith did not file a pre-trial severance motion on her behalf, and when Martinez’s counsel moved for severance during trial, Smith stated on the record that he took no position. O’Neal noted that Kearney’s own written opinion in the post-trial ruling documented that failure permanently in the federal record.
O’Neal also cited a pattern of late filings, including the sentencing memorandum, which she said she learned at sentencing had not been submitted on time or in the manner required by the court. She wrote that the pattern left her without confidence that a notice of appeal and a motion for bail pending appeal would be filed completely and on time.
READ MORE: Judge Mark Kearney denies Jenifer O’Neal’s late motion to seal sentencing memo and support letters
On June 17, Smith filed a notice of appeal for both her conviction and sentence. Smith also filed an unopposed motion to withdraw as counsel that same day. But his motion to withdraw did not address any breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. Smith attributed his withdrawal to the terms of his engagement, under which appellate representation was explicitly outside the scope of his work.
The following day, June 18, attorney Carl Williams filed a notice of limited appearance on O’Neal’s behalf as well as the motion asking Kearney to reconsider her surrender date and grant an eight-week stay. The motion argued that without additional time, O’Neal’s ability to pursue her appeal in a meaningful way would be substantially impaired. It noted that Williams had been retained on an emergency basis solely to file the motion, and that O’Neal was actively searching for qualified appellate counsel. The motion also cited O’Neal’s compliance record and argued she did not pose a flight risk. The motion pushed back on the government’s reported concern that support letters from two of O’Neal’s brothers who live on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands suggested flight risk, noting that O’Neal said she had not been to the British Virgin Islands since 2023.
The motion also argued for parity with co-defendants in related cases. In the case of former Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White, there were five weeks between the entry of judgment and the surrender date. For contractor Benjamin Hendricks, that window was nearly eight weeks. The motion argued O’Neal was being held to a more compressed timeline. The government maintained its objection.
Kearney’s Monday order resolved the cluster of pending filings. He granted Smith’s motion to withdraw and directed the clerk of court to terminate Smith’s representation. On the stay request, he granted a short extension to allow O’Neal to interview prospective appellate counsel from home detention but noted that such interviews can also be conducted from custody. He directed O’Neal to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshal’s Office on St. Thomas by 2 p.m. on July 1.
O’Neal was convicted last December on charges of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of honest services wire fraud. She was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. O’Neal was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, $34,345.39 in restitution jointly and severally with Martinez, a $400 special assessment, and a forfeiture judgment of $17,730. The judge barred her from holding any position involving fiduciary responsibility or control over finances other than her own or those of her immediate family during her supervised release.
