The judge overseeing Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial refused a last-ditch effort by her defense team to remove a holdout juror, ordering the deeply divided panel to keep deliberating as the possibility of a mistrial continues to loom.
Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, asked Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan to remove the juror Thursday after the panel’s foreperson indicated that 11 jurors had reached a decision while one remained opposed.
Questions also surfaced over whether the holdout juror was properly applying the legal standard for reasonable doubt.
Sullivan declined Reddington’s request, reviewed the Massachusetts standard for reasonable doubt and sent the jury back to continue its work.
The extraordinary dispute comes after jurors twice informed the court that they were deadlocked in the closely watched case.
Clancy is on trial for killing her three young children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, inside the family’s Duxbury home in January 2023.
She has admitted killing the children but maintains that postpartum psychosis left her unable to be held criminally responsible.
Prosecutors have argued that Clancy knew right from wrong and deliberately carried out the killings.
🚨 BREAKING: The Lindsay Clancy judge has just SHOT DOWN Clancy’s attorney’s efforts to scrutinize and potentially remove the lone juror holding out on a “GUILTY” verdict, instead of not guilty, 11-1
GOOD.
The prosecution is pouncing, saying future jury notes should not include… pic.twitter.com/NbWO9yQnWP
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 4, 2026
The jury is set to return Friday for a seventh day of deliberations after Sullivan previously issued a Tuey-Rodriquez instruction, sometimes referred to as a “dynamite” charge, in an effort to break the stalemate.
The latest development has placed even more attention on the reported 11-1 split and whether the lone juror is refusing to follow the law or simply remains unconvinced by the case presented by prosecutors.
Reddington told reporters that a jury inquiry was expected to take place in open court Friday morning at 9 a.m., although he said he did not yet know exactly what Sullivan planned to ask.
The defense escalated the courtroom battle Friday by filing an emergency motion seeking to end all sidebars for the remainder of the trial.
Reddington asked Sullivan to issue a standing order requiring trial-related proceedings to take place in open court rather than through private discussions at the bench.
The filing came after the 11 jurors reportedly raised concerns about their fellow juror as the panel struggled to reach a unanimous decision.
Despite the mounting pressure, Sullivan has so far refused to remove the holdout and has instead directed the jury to continue deliberating.
A mistrial remains a possibility if the panel ultimately cannot reach a unanimous verdict, but the declaration of deadlock does not automatically end the case.
The jury’s options include first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, not guilty or not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
If the panel remains split after the judge’s final instructions and inquiry, Sullivan could eventually conclude that further deliberations would serve no purpose and declare a mistrial.
For now, however, the judge has rejected the defense’s attempt to remove the lone juror and made clear that the 12-member panel must keep trying to reach a lawful verdict.
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