Judge to decide if Lindsay Clancy faces a second trial

Lindsay Clancy will appear in a Massachusetts courtroom on Monday for a hearing that may set a date for her retrial.

The judge, William Sullivan, must decide whether the state will retry Clancy for the 2023 killings of her three children in Duxbury. The parties plan to discuss the schedule for a new trial and the defense's efforts to investigate the juror who caused the September mistrial. That single holdout prevented a unanimous verdict, leaving the jury split 11 to 1 in favor of not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility.

Clancy's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, has filed multiple motions to stop a new trial. He is seeking the holdout juror's cell phone records and juror questionnaire. Reddington also asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that a retrial would violate the double jeopardy clause. He claims the judge declared a mistrial without manifest necessity, a high legal standard. Sullivan rejected a previous request for an evidentiary hearing on October 21. The judge ruled that it was raised too late and was an inappropriate violation of jury privacy.

Sullivan wrote that courts must not delve into a juror's subjective reasoning or the jury's deliberative content. Prosecutors filed a response arguing the judge followed the law when questioning jurors and declaring the mistrial. Reddington also asked the court to enter a finding of not guilty because prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence. Sullivan rejected that argument days later. The prosecution called the defense's position laughable.

Prosecutors have not yet said if they intend to try Clancy for a second time. There is also a remote possibility of a plea deal. Clancy, 36, is charged with intentionally strangling her children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan, and then attempting suicide. Her defense argued she suffered from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible. Clancy has been held at Tewksbury Hospital since shortly after the killings. She remains partially paralyzed from her suicide attempt. She could face life in prison if convicted.

If a jury finds she is not criminally responsible, the court will likely begin the process of committing her to a psychiatric hospital. The holdout juror, Michael Péguy Desronvil, has said his position was misrepresented by fellow jurors who spoke to the press. The hearing on Monday is the next step in this case, which drew national attention this summer.

The judge has already rejected several defense requests. The motion to dismiss over double jeopardy remains unresolved. The outcome of Monday's hearing will determine the next phase of the legal proceedings.