In short:
Lindsay Clancy's lawyers say either her murder case should be dismissed or a new trial date set.
asserted
date → say → ?
They argued the dismissal on grounds the lone juror who favoured conviction should have been removed.
What's next?
A hearing has been scheduled for November 16.
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hearing → argue → November
Lindsay Clancy's lawyer has urged a judge to either dismiss the murder charges against her or put her back on trial.
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lawyer → urge → trial
Warning: This story contains details that may be distressing for some readers.
uncertain
that → contain → readers
A hearing held on Monday, November 2, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, marked the second time Ms Clancy has been in court since a mistrial was declared, after jurors were unable to agree whether she was legally responsible for killing her three young children.
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she → hold → children
In September, the jury was split 11-1 in favour of acquittal.
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jury → split → acquittal
Ms Clancy's defence team moved to dismiss the murder changes on double jeopardy grounds, arguing the conditions for declaring a mistrial were not met.
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conditions → move → mistrial
Under US law a mistrial can only be declared if every other option to proceed has been exhausted.
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option → declare → law
Ms Clancy's lawyers argued the judge should have removed a juror who favoured conviction, and then allowed jury deliberation to continue.
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deliberation → argue → conviction
Judge William Sullivan did not immediately rule on Monday.
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Sullivan → rule → Monday
Ms Clancy's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, implored him to decide quickly.
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lawyer → implore → him
He also pressed the Plymouth District Attorney, Timothy Cruz, to reveal whether he plans to try Clancy on murder charges again.
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he → press → charges
"I am not going to have this woman sit incarcerated for the next year, or two or three," Mr Reddington said.
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Reddington → go → year
"I want a trial and I want it with you and I want it this spring."
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I → want → it
Judge Sullivan scheduled another hearing for November 16, and the prosecution said it intends to retry Ms Clancy if the case proceeds.
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case → schedule → Clancy
He also suggested a new trial could be held in March next year.
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trial → suggest → March
What happens to Lindsay Clancy now?
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What → happen → Clancy
Mr Cruz is yet to announce whether prosecutors would retry Ms Clancy on first-degree murder charges, which carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole if she were convicted.
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she → announce → parole
Prosecutors have several options before them, including seeking her conviction on lesser second-degree murder charges, which would give her the option to waive a jury trial and proceed before a judge.
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which → have → judge
Ms Clancy has been held in a state psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts before and during trial and would remain in custody through a second trial.
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Clancy → hold → trial
Clancy lawyers argue case should have been dismissed
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case → argue → ?
Ms Clancy's lawyers argued a mistrial could have been avoided had the judge been more thorough interrogating jurors about their breakdown in deliberations.
uncertain
judge → argue → deliberations
The jury's foreperson sent two notes indicating that a lone juror, Michael Desronvil, wasn't following the court's instruction to follow the rules regarding reasonable doubt.
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juror → send → doubt
After receiving the notes, Judge Sullivan spoke with each juror, reminded them of their duties and explained what constitutes reasonable doubt.
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what → receive → doubt
He asked whether they could apply the law to the case, and all said yes.
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all → ask → case
Mr Reddington urged the judge to investigate Mr Desronvil, who he accused of being untruthful on his jury questionnaire and improperly using his phone during jury deliberations.
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he → urge → deliberations
Judge Sullivan told Mr Reddington to stop using the juror's name in open court; he had placed a standing order to seal the names of the jurors to protect them from abuse.
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he → tell → abuse
However a number of jurors, including Mr Desronvil, had done interviews in the media, which led Mr Reddington to say that the juror's name "was all over the internet".
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name → include → internet
"Why don't we all dial this back a little bit," Judge Sullivan said.
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Sullivan → dial → this
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague said the judge had struck the right balance.
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judge → say → balance
"It is clear from the record this juror did not refuse to deliberate.
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juror → refuse → record
He refused to agree," Ms Sprague said.
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Sprague → refuse → ?
Mr Desronvil said in an interview he was certain of Ms Clancy's guilt, but other jurors wouldn't listen.
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jurors → say → guilt
His lawyer, Heather O'Connor, urged the judge on Monday not to investigate his conduct any further, saying he had simply done his duty as a juror.
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he → urge → juror
She also disputed the allegations of improper phone use.
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She → dispute → use
"If that's enough to put a juror under oath, to search their phone, to pull their history, then the lesson [for] every future juror in this Commonwealth is simple: Agree with the majority or potentially be investigated," Ms O'Connor said.
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O'Connor → put → majority
The Aporia
