Aporia · How Would You Have Applied Massachusetts Law in the Lindsay Clancy Trial?

This article reads unscored and hedges 20% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial after emergency appeal denied same event · 100%

CBC | Top Stories News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 4 of 49 📰 publisher trust 95

“Both articles report on the mistrial declaration in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial, with Article A providing more immediate news and details about the court proceedings.”

Lindsay Clancy calls mistrial, then grants defense one hour stay for appeal different event · 100%

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 94

“Article B refers to the Lindsay Clancy trial and asks for hypothetical application of Massachusetts law, while Article A reports on a recent development in the case, specifically the judge's consideration of declaring a mistrial”

Clancy trial ends in hung jury after attorney's attempt to avoid mistrial fails same event · 100%

Home - CBSNews.com

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 9 of 190 📰 publisher trust 59

“Both articles describe the same trial of Lindsay Clancy, referencing the same judge, attorney, and mistrial declaration.”

Judge to declare mistrial in Lindsay Clancy trial after jury hopelessly deadlocked, defense granted hour to appeal same event · 100%

NBC News Top Stories

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 2% hedged 1 of 42 📰 publisher trust 95

“Both articles refer to the Lindsay Clancy trial, the judge declaring a mistrial, and the defense's appeal attempt on September 4, 2026.”

Mistrial declared in Lindsay Clancy case after last-minute defense Hail Mary is denied different event · 100%

The Independent World

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 3% hedged 2 of 67 📰 publisher trust 58

“Article B appears to be discussing the broader context of the trial and seeking opinions from law professors, whereas Article A reports on a specific incident (the mistrial declaration) that occurred within the trial”

Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy murder case after jury fails to reach unanimous verdict – as it happened same event · 100%

US news | The Guardian

⚖️ Leans left 🔴 8% hedged 4 of 48 📰 publisher trust 95

“Both articles describe the trial of Lindsay Clancy coming to an end with a mistrial declaration, at the exact same time, due to jury's inability to reach a verdict.”

Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy case after jury deadlocked again same event · 100%

US news | The Guardian

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 6 of 60 📰 publisher trust 95

“Both articles describe the same trial of Lindsay Clancy, where a mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked.”

Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge declares mistrial after emergency request denied different event · 100%

ABC News: Top Stories

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4 📰 publisher trust 94

“Article A reports on a judge declaring a mistrial, while Article B is about hypothetical legal analysis of the case and does not mention a mistrial.”

Judge indicates mistrial in Lindsay Clancy trial, then one hour delay approved same event · 100%

Home - CBSNews.com

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 59

“Both articles describe the Lindsay Clancy trial proceedings on September 4, 2026, including the judge's indication of a mistrial and a subsequent one-hour delay granted to the defense.”

Lindsay Clancy judge gives defense one hour to file stay before mistrial declared same event · 100%

Washington Examiner

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 25% hedged 1 of 4 📰 publisher trust 96

“Both articles report on the ongoing murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, specifically mentioning the jury's deadlock after seven days of deliberation and a potential mistrial”

Publisher

Reason Magazine · 39 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected

Signal	Value	Weight
Correction rate	0.026	0.4
Uncertainty density	0.141	0.25
Assertive mismatch rate	0.000	0.35

Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

2026-09-05

Lawyers' Responsibility for Hallucinations in Briefs That They Sign

Who wrote this

Eugene Volokh

25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Perhaps most analogously to alienation of affections, if Alan breaches his contract with Betty, and Cathy encouraged him to breach it, she will in many situations be liable for intentional interference with contract.

2026-09-06 · assertive framing · Alienation of Affections as Complicity

🔮 In a phone call on March 2, Gelb told Netrebko to issue a statement specifically denouncing Putin, or she would be fired.

2026-09-05 · assertive framing · Opera Star Anna Netrebko Loses Follow-Up Defamation Case Against the N.Y. Metropolitan Opera

🔮 A malicious act "include[s] any intentional conduct that would probably affect the marital relationship.

2026-09-05 · assertive framing · N.C. Court Has Jurisdiction over Alienation of Affection Claim Brought Against Ex-Arizona-Senator Kyrsten Sinema

🔮 If you have followed the factual allegations in the case, please post a comment and indicate how you would have voted if you were a juror, based on your knowledge (even if limited) of the factual allegations, and why you would have so voted.

2026-09-05 · mixed framing · How Would You Have Applied Massachusetts Law in the Lindsay Clancy Trial?

🔮 As part of this mea culpa, Ms. Hall assured the court that she had taken the remedial measure of verifying that the remaining citations in the brief were legitimate authority and pledged that, going forward (presumably in her representation of other clients), she would not rely on any AI tool "for legal research without confirming each authority" or file anything that includes citations she has not independently verified.

2026-09-04 · assertive framing · "Incredulity" That "Competent Law Firm Representing One of the Largest Financial Institution[s] in the World" Filed Brief with AI Hallucinations

🔮 Such a requirement would be impractical, unduly burdensome, and unnecessarily duplicative given the availability of reasonable alternative procedures to guard against erroneous citations.

2026-09-04 · mixed framing · Lawyers' Responsibility for Hallucinations in Briefs That They Sign

🔮 If it were, then any profit-seeking news organization could face liability for its failure to investigate, contrary to the principle that a publisher is not "required to seek out contrary stories" to insulate itself from a finding of actual malice.

2026-09-04 · mixed framing · Sean Combs (P. Diddy)'s Defamation Suit Can Go Forward (Including Against NewsNation)

🔮 Under the rational basis standard, government conduct "is presumed to be valid and will be sustained if the classification drawn by the statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest."

2026-09-03 · assertive framing · Puerto Rico Has Rational Basis for Allowing Only Two Genders for Birth Certificate Gender Changes

🔮 To state a violation of § 784.049, a plaintiff must plausibly allege - Defendant published a sexually explicit image of Plaintiff on an internet website; - The image contained or conveyed Plaintiff's personal identification information; - Defendant acted willfully and maliciously, for no legitimate purpose, and with the intent of causing substantial emotional distress to Plaintiff; - Plaintiff did not consent to the publication…. The dispute was about whether the video showed a "sexually explicit image," and the court said no: [T]he statute defines {"sexually explicit image"} as any photograph or video that depicts "nudity" or depicts "any person engaging in sexual conduct." …

2026-09-03 · assertive framing · Florida Revenge Porn Law Doesn't Cover Simulated Sexual Conduct That's Implied Rather Than Shown

🔮 Roe is a Saudi Arabian citizen who, until May 2021, was living full-time in Riyadh and working as a result estate [real estate? -EV] investor.

2026-08-31 · mixed framing · Lawsuit Over Outing of Gay Saudi Residents by Lufthansa in Saudi Arabia Can Proceed

Also by Eugene Volokh

Alienation of Affections as Complicity

2026-09-06 · Reason Magazine

Opera Star Anna Netrebko Loses Follow-Up Defamation Case Against the N.Y. Metropolitan Opera

2026-09-05 · Reason Magazine

N.C. Court Has Jurisdiction over Alienation of Affection Claim Brought Against Ex-Arizona-Senator Kyrsten Sinema

2026-09-05 · Reason Magazine

Open Thread

2026-09-05 · Reason Magazine

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 25 articles by Eugene Volokh →

Topics

Massachusetts Paul Robinson et al U.S.

Subjects

Massachusetts GPE · 7× Clancy PERSON · 5× Duxbury GPE · 1× Lindsay Clancy PERSON · 1× Paul Robinson et al ORG · 1× Sally Satel PERSON · 1× The Free Press ORG · 1× U.S. GPE · 1×

Narrative

[2.] The substantive rule is that a defendant is not criminally responsible if (a) he or she "suffer[ed] from a mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense" (with no further definition of the terms, at least as part of the standard instruction) and (b) either (i) the defendant lacked "the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness or criminality of their conduct" or (ii) the defendant lacked "the substantial capacity … to conform their conduct to the requirements of the law."

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-05

2026-09-05 · Reason Magazine

How Would You Have Applied Massachusetts Law in the Lindsay Clancy Trial? · mixed framing

Claims (64 extracted, 13 hedged)

[A.] I know lots of people have opinions about the Lindsay Clancy trial, and I wanted to pass along the Massachusetts standard criminal jury instructions for such matters. asserted

I → know → matters

(I can't be certain that this is the instruction that was actually given in the case, but it's the recommended instruction for such cases, so I assume the actual instruction wasn't far off.) asserted

instruction → give → cases

If you have followed the factual allegations in the case, please post a comment and indicate how you would have voted if you were a juror, based on your knowledge (even if limited) of the factual allegations, and why you would have so voted. asserted

you → follow → allegations

Please keep in mind two important things: [1.] Once evidence triggering the defense is raised, the government must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. asserted

government → keep → doubt

To draw an analogy from how people talk about the reasonable doubt standard as to other guilt/innocence questions, Massachusetts takes the view that it is better that 10 non-insane people are wrongly acquitted than that one insane person is wrongly convicted. asserted

person → draw → view

This is not the uniform rule in the U.S.; for instance, in federal cases, the law is almost the opposite—the defendant must prove insanity by clear and convincing evidence. asserted

defendant → prove → evidence

Indeed, my quick research suggests that this is the rule only in a minority of states. uncertain

this → suggest → states

But the law in Massachusetts on this is as settled. asserted

law → settle → this

defendant → suffer[e → law

(From what I understand of the Clancy defense, it is that she suffered from a mental disease and lacked the substantial capacity to refrain from killing her children—or at least there's a reasonable possibility that this was so.) asserted

this → understand → children

This substantive standard is likewise not a uniform view throughout the country; many other states follow different approaches. asserted

states → follow → approaches

According to a Paul Robinson et al. study from 2015, about 1/3 of the states take the same substantive approach as Massachusetts does. uncertain

Massachusetts → accord → approach

[B.] Please focus in your comment on how you would apply Massachusetts law, not whether you think the law should be changed (either as to the burden and quantum of proof, or as to the substantive definition of when the defendant isn't legally responsible). asserted

defendant → focus → definition

Also, please focus on how you think this standard should apply in this case to this person. asserted

standard → focus → person

The question isn't the prevalence of postpartum psychosis as such, or of how often women can be highly distraught and not kill their children. asserted

women → kill → children

Nor is it whether Clancy's public supporters or detractors are acting badly or opining foolishly. asserted

supporters → act → ?

Rather, the question is whether, on the facts of this case, you would think that there's a reasonable doubt about Clancy's sanity (as defined by the Massachusetts law summarized in item A.2 above). asserted

you → think → item

[C.] If you want more details on the Clancy case, here's a summary by Dr. Sally Satel (The Free Press), whom I know in some measure and whose work I've generally found to be thoughtful and balanced. asserted

I → want → measure

She ultimately comes down in favor of acquittal, but the factual summary generally appears consistent with what I've heard from other news sources: On January 24, 2023, Clancy took her children, one by one, into the basement of the family's home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. asserted

Clancy → come → Duxbury

"Go to God, baby," she allegedly said as she asphyxiated each of them with exercise bands. uncertain

she → go → bands

She then made cuts on her wrists and neck, and jumped out of a second-story window in a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed below the waist. asserted

that → make → waist

She did these things during the hour it took her husband to complete an errand she asked him to run. asserted

she → do → him

Although Clancy said she initially felt well following Callan's birth in May 2022, she saw a psychiatrist in late summer for help with depression, severe insomnia, and feelings of being overwhelmed by simple tasks like dressing or showering. uncertain

she → say → tasks

Over time, she allegedly began having suicidal ideation and experiencing what have been variously described as "intrusive thoughts" and "auditory hallucinations" telling her that she was "damaged" and would "not be the same," and that "the only option is to die." uncertain

option → begin → her

In December 2022, she told her husband and mother that she had thoughts of harming her children and was worried that other people could hear those thoughts. uncertain

people → tell → thoughts

After Clancy's husband left to pick up food and medication on January 24, 2023, she said that a loud, demanding male voice told her over and over, "This is your last chance. asserted

This → leave → her

You have to kill the kids so you can kill yourself." asserted

you → have → yourself

She allegedly entered "a dreamlike state" and watched herself act, feeling as if she had "no choice." uncertain

she → enter → choice

A hospital chaplain who met with Clancy within weeks of the crime testified that Clancy said the voice "told her that if she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would be safe." asserted

she → meet → command

From September 2022 to January 2023, Clancy received several formal diagnoses: adjustment disorder and generalized anxiety disorder at the Aster Mental Health clinic, and major depressive disorder at McLean Hospital. asserted

Clancy → receive → Hospital

A psychiatric nurse practitioner raised the possibility of postpartum depression before the killings, though it was never formally diagnosed, and Clancy's bipolar disorder and PTSD were not fully diagnosed until afterward. asserted

disorder → raise → killings

And why might postpartum psychosis have been missed until after the killings? uncertain

psychosis → miss → killings

Unlike postpartum depression, a relatively common diagnosis that occurs in one out of eight deliveries, postpartum psychosis is rare, occurring just once or twice in every 1,000 deliveries. asserted

psychosis → occur → deliveries

She did not have symptoms for three months after Callan's birth, although, according to the DSM-5, postpartum psychosis manifests rapidly within the first month after delivery. uncertain

psychosis → have → delivery

Also, expert witnesses at her trial debated whether Clancy suffered actual psychotic episodes before the killing and whether the voice she heard in her basement on January 24 was a true command hallucination or merely an insistent internal thought that she chose to obey. asserted

she → debate → that

Also, Clancy did not consistently report suicidal or homicidal thinking or hallucinations to clinicians, perhaps because her mood and ideation fluctuated over the course of the day—a standard feature of postpartum psychosis…. asserted

mood → report → psychosis

In reaching these conclusions, I have accepted the truth of Clancy's description of the voice she heard and her explanation of why she followed its command. asserted

she → reach → command

I believe her account because absolutely nothing in her past foreshadowed her cataclysmic act. asserted

nothing → believe → act

She was uniformly regarded by family members, friends, and her nanny as an excellent mother and a caring, sensitive woman. asserted

She → regard → mother

She had no history of aggression, child abuse, or violence—apparently, she had never even spanked her kids. asserted

she → have → kids

…and 24 more, not listed.

How Would You Have Applied Massachusetts Law in the Lindsay Clancy Trial?

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Claims (64 extracted, 13 hedged)