RALEIGH -- Former Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps walked into a courtroom on Wednesday to give an apology. She walked out with a promise that she will spend at least one more Christmas at home before going to federal prison.

Phipps appeared Wednesday morning in Wake County Superior Court to be sentenced on four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from illegal fund raising during her 2000 campaign.

Instead of imposing a sentence, Wake Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens delayed Phipps' sentencing until March and released her from jail, where he had sent her after a jury convicted her Oct. 30.

Just after the verdict was announced, Stephens gave an angry speech demanding that Phipps show remorse for her crimes at sentencing.

Phipps made a brief statement Wednesday. It was the first time she has spoken about her crimes since she was indicted in July.

"I am truly sorry that I have brought this sadness and this grief to my family, but also to the people of North Carolina, who I consider my family," Phipps told the judge. "I do accept full responsibility for my actions."

Stephens will impose his punishment after Phipps receives her federal sentence for five felony counts of extortion, mail fraud and conspiracy, to which she pleaded guilty on Monday. The federal sentencing is tentatively set for March, and she is expected to receive five years in prison.

Stephens told Phipps that she will serve whatever sentence he gives at the same time as her federal sentence.

Phipps, 47, is part of a North Carolina Democratic dynasty. Her father and grandfather were governors. When she goes to prison, she'll leave behind her husband, Robert Phipps, a businessman who owns and manages shopping centers, and two children, 12 and 13.

State and federal prosecutors say Phipps, who as commissioner oversaw two state-run fairs, took thousands in illegal cash contributions from fair vendors and granted them lucrative state contracts in return. They say she schemed to cover up the illegal fund raising and lied about it under oath to the State Board of Elections. She resigned in June, after 2 1/2 years in office.

During the hearing Wednesday, Stephens told Phipps and her lawyers that he had received several letters from citizens after the trial ended. He said most of the letter-writers expressed deep disappointment in Phipps but asked for a punishment that is "firm but merciful."

Then, he told her she could go home.

Phipps was escorted back to jail to be released. Within minutes, she emerged into the lobby of the Wake County Public Safety Building carrying a small plastic bag filled with her belongings.

After 13 days in a cell, Phipps smiled brilliantly as she walked out with her husband. Reporters shoved microphones in her face and shouted questions, and she responded with one sentence:

"It'll be nice to see my children."

A bystander on the sidewalk shouted, "We love you, Meg."

Phipps gave a joyous hug to her sister, Susan Sutton, then strapped herself into the front seat of a pickup truck and headed to her farm in Alamance County.

Phipps' attorneys, brothers Wade and Roger Smith, said they will begin preparing evidence for her sentencing hearing in federal court. Federal sentencing typically is held several months after conviction, so defendants can solicit letters from supporters and prepare paperwork that helps a judge determine the appropriate sentence.

In the plea agreement Phipps signed Monday, prosecutors agreed to ask for the minimum sentence allowed under federal guidelines, which they estimate will result in a five-year sentence. Prosecutors said they would oppose requests to make an exception for Phipps.

Since the scandal became public a year and a half ago, Phipps has appeared chipper and unaffected in public. But her lawyers said that Phipps, though reserved in public, has been deeply affected by the charges. They said she kept her statement short and without emotion because she didn't want to break down in court.

"Her attitude is that this, too, shall pass," Wade Smith said. "She is a very courageous person, and she can handle it. The good thing is that the bleeding has stopped and the healing can begin."

While she waits for her sentence, Phipps cannot leave the state. Smith said she will spend the time with her family.

Her relatives released a statement after the hearing.

"We have Meg back home with her children," it read, "where she belongs for a while."