Lindsay Clancy Emergency Appeal Denied as Massachusetts High Court Refuses to Block Mistrial

Lindsay Clancy’s last-minute effort to stop a mistrial was rejected Friday, setting the stage for the judge to bring jurors back into court and formally end the trial without a verdict. The emergency request was denied, clearing the way for the judge to bring the jury back into the courtroom and formally declare a mistrial, as per Court TV live coverage.

Lindsay, 36, had turned to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after jurors reported they could not reach a unanimous verdict following roughly 38 hours of deliberations. As per TMZ, the court agreed to hear her emergency request on Friday, September 4. The filing focuses on a dispute over a single juror.

According to the emergency request, the jury foreperson told Plymouth Superior Court that a juror “has acknowledged doubt but is refusing to apply it to the case ‘as the law states.'”

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington had asked Judge William Sullivan to remove the juror or conduct a further inquiry into whether the panelist could follow the court’s instructions. Sullivan declined.

The jury was reportedly split 11-1, although the 11 jurors’ verdict had not been made public.

Reddington, 75, quickly sought intervention after Sullivan said on Friday that the continuing deadlock required him to declare a mistrial. Sullivan gave the defense one hour to ask the Supreme Judicial Court to step in before dismissing the jury.

Reddington called the situation “this travesty” while asking Sullivan to keep the jury together pending the appeal, according to TMZ.

Lindsay Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months old. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. Her defense says postpartum psychosis left her unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions.

Prosecutors argue she was mentally ill but acted deliberately and understood what she was doing.