Jury Delivers Verdict In Lindsay Clancy Trial

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The Lindsay Clancy trial was in limbo on Friday after Judge William Sullivan paused a mistrial declaration for one hour in response to an emergency appeal filed by Clancy’s defense attorney.

Kevin Reddington asked for a Chapter 211, Section 3 petition.

It asks a single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to step in and review a lower court’s decision before the normal appeals process plays out.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied the request from Clancy’s lawyer.

Judge William Sullivan’s stunning move came after he announced in court that jurors — now in their seventh day of deliberations — sent a third note saying they can’t reach a unanimous decision on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three young children in 2023.

“I’m going to declare a mistrial at this point,” Sullivan said before the defense asked for stay of the declaration. At the defense table, Clancy showed no visible reaction to the exchange.

Friday morning began with Judge Sullivan announcing that he had received a note from the jury.

“With a heavy heart, we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to,” Judge Sullivan said.

The Commonwealth says it may be time to declare a mistrial.

Reddington asked the judge to send the jury back.

“It would be a sound and a wise decision for this court to send it back under the law,” Reddington said.

Judge Sullivan conducted an additional inquiry into the holdout juror after declining to remove the juror on Thursday.

Judge Sullivan shot down a request from Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, to potentially remove the lone juror holding out on a “guilty” verdict.

On Thursday, the foreperson’s note disclosed an apparent 11–1 division and alleged that the lone juror was not following the court’s reasonable-doubt instructions.

Judge Sullivan individually questioned all 12 jurors and asked whether they could follow his legal instructions.

Reddington filed an emergency motion this morning asking Judge Sullivan to prohibit any further private sidebar discussions in the case.

The one-page filing asked Sullivan for a standing order requiring that the trial and all related proceedings be conducted in open court, rather than through private conversations at sidebar.

That’s important because yesterday’s extraordinary juror controversy largely unfolded through sidebars that the public and livestream audience could not hear.

There is also an important distinction about the alleged 11–1 jury split.

Reddington has suggested that he believes the 11 jurors favor Clancy, but the court has not officially disclosed the jury’s actual votes.

Thursday began as the sixth day of jury deliberations, following two previous declarations that the jury was deadlocked.

By approximately 3 p.m., after roughly 35 hours of deliberations, another jury note arrived.

Judge Sullivan brought court back into session and proceeded to question all 12 jurors individually under oath.

The questioning occurred at the sidebar, meaning viewers watching the livestream couldn’t hear the questions or answers.

Clancy was brought to the sidebar in her wheelchair while the jurors were questioned.

ABC reported that prosecutors and defense attorneys were visibly disagreeing about what was happening.

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