Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge denies bid to remove holdout juror amid deadlock drama
Judge denies bid to remove holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial as deliberations stall over reasonable doubt
Tensions escalated significantly during the sixth day of deliberations in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy trial after the jury foreperson sent a note indicating that a single holdout juror was refusing to follow the court's legal instructions regarding reasonable doubt.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington aggressively pushed to have the juror dismissed, warning that leaving them on the panel risked a forced mistrial and arguing the individual was spurning the court's rules.
Judge Sullivan denied the defense's request to remove the juror. He noted that dismissing a deliberating juror is an extraordinarily sensitive step and that it would be improper for the court to take sides in the internal dynamics of the jury room.
"I don't feel it is proper for me to side with one side or the other of the deliberations," the judge said.
Rather than removing anyone, the judge questioned all jurors individually in private and reread the standard instructions on reasonable doubt before sending them back to continue working.
Sprague, the prosecutor, said the judge's instructions to the jurors were appropriate.
"There's no way to determine what the deliberations are, who's correct, who's incorrect, nor should we attempt to," she said.
In an unusual visual moment for the trial, Lindsay Clancy—who uses a wheelchair after being paralyzed from a suicide attempt was wheeled to the front of the courtroom by her attorney to participate directly in the sidebar discussions.
The jury ultimately wrapped up its sixth day without reaching a verdict, leaving the high-stakes trial on the brink of a potential mistrial.
As reported, the 36-years-old Clancy faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.
If found not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, or reason of insanity, she could be committed to a state psychiatric hospital.
Under US law, a jury must unanimously believe "beyond a reasonable doubt" that someone is guilty in order to convict them of a crime.
The designation is the strictest standard in the US legal system. It places the burden on the government to prove that the accused is guilty, and not the accused to prove their innocence.
