After Judge Sullivan initially ruled that there is a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy trial, there is now a one-hour delay as defense attorney Kevin Reddington petitions the state’s Supreme Judicial Court for an emergency stay and appeal.
A source close to the trial told Boston 25 News shortly before 1:00 p.m. that Reddington has filed the formal appeal, but they are having trouble finding a single SJC justice to review the motion.
The prosecution has entered the courtroom, but the judge has still not returned.
Judge Sullivan says Reddington has an hour to complete the process before he brings the jury back in. The mistrial is not a legitimate ruling until the decision is read in open court.
Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after more than 7 days of deliberations.
Judge Sullivan ruled that he was going to declare a mistrial after the jurors returned with a third note, explaining that they still could not come to a consensus.
The jurors will remain in the building as Reddington aims to get a justice to respond and continue the trial and force the jurors to continue deliberating.
Clancy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of Cora Clancy, Dawson Clancy and Callan Clancy. Her three children were all under the age of 5 when they were found strangled to death in the basement of their Duxbury home.
Friday’s explosive outcome follows a stunning day in court Thursday, when Reddington pleaded for the judge to question the juror identified by the jury foreperson as not following the judge’s instructions regarding reasonable doubt.
Reddington took issue with the judge deciding the jurors to continue deliberating Friday as usual without any inquiry or acknowledgement of Thursday’s dramatic events.
Reddington on Thursday pushed for the judge to replace the potential holdout juror with an alternate but Judge Sullivan said a juror may be discharged only for reasons personal to that juror.
Reddington also filed an emergency motion Friday morning, asking the judge to stop holding sidebar discussions during the trial and have future arguments and proceedings handled in open court.
If the mistrial ruling is held up, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office could try Clancy again at a later date or opt to drop their case entirely.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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