Judge in Lindsay Clancy case indefinitely impounds jury questionnaires
Clancy's five-week trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4.
The judge overseeing the high-profile murder case of Lindsay Clancy -- the Massachusetts woman charged with killing her three young children -- ordered an extension of the impoundment order keeping jurors' names and questionnaires private, citing the "significant and divisive" attention the trial has received.
The order, signed Tuesday by Judge William Sullivan, prevents members of the public from accessing the jury list and questionnaires, though the lawyers for either side may still be able to access the records.
Sullivan said the materials are not a “public record” under Massachusetts law.He also said that while some jurors have spoken out publicly, the majority have opted to remain anonymous.
“The Court concludes that there is a risk of immediate and irreparable injury should the [records] be made available to the public at this time,” he wrote, adding there is a "real and present risk of [personal] harm to the jurors [and] to the integrity of their service."
The extension of the impoundment order will last "until and unless otherwise instructed by the court," according to Sullivan.
It does not immediately impact the defense’s push to investigate the holdout juror.It also does not prevent jurors from coming forward if they decide to do so.
“This case has garnered and continues to garner significant and divisive attention in Massachusetts, nationally and internationally,” Sullivan wrote. “The proceedings have been and continue to be the daily subject of commentary and opinions on various media platforms.”
Sullivan declared a mistrial in Clancy's case on Sept. 4, after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Clancy pleaded not guilty to three murder charges for thedeathsof her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan, who were strangled at the family's home in Duxbury, a Boston suburb, on Jan. 24, 2023.
The former nurse attempted suicide on the night of her children's deaths, leaving her paralyzed and in a wheelchair, according to state prosecutors.
Clancy's defense attorney argued she was suffering frompostpartum psychosis-- considered a psychiatric emergency, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists -- and overmedicated when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life.
Prosecutors argued that Clancy was criminally responsible for the children's deaths and was capable of understanding the severity of her actions.
