Tensions boiled over Thursday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after the defense claimed a lone juror was disregarding the court’s explanation of reasonable doubt.
Kevin Reddington, Clancy’s attorney, urged Judge William Sullivan to boot the juror from the panel after the foreperson allegedly flagged a problem inside the deliberation room.
According to Reddington, the foreperson said “there’s one juror who refuses to listen to the law” governing reasonable doubt.
The defense attorney argued that Sullivan’s previous instructions had not resolved the issue and warned that the standoff could derail the closely watched case.
“If we come back here in a half an hour with a mistrial because of a juror that has just spurned the instructions of this court, it’s a shame,” Reddington said while asking that the juror be removed.
Prosecutors fought the request, arguing that the court could not determine what was happening behind closed doors without intruding on the jury’s private discussions.
They said there was “no way to determine what the deliberations are, who’s correct, who’s incorrect, nor should we attempt to, because that’s part of deliberations.”
BREAKING: The foreperson in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial just delivered a note asking for one juror to be removed for not following the rules regarding the law’s definition of reasonable doubt. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington then asked for that juror to be removed.
The… pic.twitter.com/8jEj6Xhn5J
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 3, 2026
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The prosecution maintained that Sullivan had handled the matter properly by repeating the reasonable doubt instructions and asking the jurors individually whether they could follow the law.
Sullivan refused to dismiss the juror, describing the removal of a panelist after deliberations have begun as “a sensitive undertaking.”
The judge said intervening further could amount “to side with one side or the other of the deliberations.” He noted that every juror had reaffirmed an ability to follow the court’s instructions before overruling the defense objection and calling a recess.
The courtroom clash unfolded as the jury of nine women and three men continued struggling to reach a decision. The panel has twice informed Sullivan that it is deadlocked, but the judge has instructed its members to keep trying.
Reddington was also seen waving papers at the defense table during a tense moment Thursday before approaching Clancy for a private conversation.
Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. She acknowledges killing them, while her defense maintains that postpartum psychosis left her unable to be held criminally responsible.
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