A church court found Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño — The United Methodist Church’s first Latina bishop — not guilty of four charges.

Carcaño, who has served as bishop of the California-Nevada Conference since 2016, stood trial since Sept. 19 before a jury of 13 racially diverse clergy members from the North Central Jurisdiction. The trial took place at the offices of Wespath Benefits and Investments in Glenview, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

She faced accusations under church law of disobedience to the order and discipline of the church, undermining the ministry of another clergy person, harassment and fiscal malfeasance.

As of 8:32 p.m. Sept. 21, the jury — called a trial court in The United Methodist Church — rendered a verdict acquitting her on all counts. Retired Bishop Alfred W. Gwinn, the presiding officer or equivalent of a judge in the case, announced the verdict after the church court came to order on Sept. 22.

The charges stemmed from three complaints filed by a total of seven members of the California-Nevada Conference. Those complaints dealt with three very different situations.

The 13-member jury of United Methodists included seven men and six women. The racial breakdown was four Asian American, three Black, three white, two Hispanic and one who is of mixed race.

Twelve of the jurors are ordained elders and one is an ordained deacon.

This is a developing story that UM News will be adding to throughout the day.

Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Friday Digests.

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