Clancy Defense Files Double Jeopardy Bid to End Case

Lindsay Clancy's lawyers asked a judge to dismiss her murder case on double jeopardy grounds while demanding an investigation into the lone holdout juror.

Lawyers Martin Weinberg and Kevin Reddington filed a motion Monday asking Judge William Sullivan to dismiss the three first-degree murder charges against Lindsay Clancy entirely, rather than allow a second trial. They argue the Sept. 4 mistrial — declared after the jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of finding her not criminally responsible — should never have happened, so trying her again would violate double jeopardy protections under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Weinberg previously pursued a double jeopardy claim for Karen Read.

The defense argues the judge had a viable option short of a mistrial: replacing the holdout juror, Michael Desronvil, with an alternate after the jury foreperson twice reported he was refusing to apply the law on reasonable doubt. Weinberg wrote that 'contrary to the court's stated belief at the time, it did have viable choices other than declaring a mistrial.' Sullivan had denied the defense's request to remove the holdout, saying it was inappropriate to intervene in deliberations. Fox News notes Weinberg also represented Karen Read in her failed double jeopardy claim.

Reddington's separate motion, filed Friday and made public Monday, asks the court to question Desronvil about alleged cellphone use during deliberations — prohibited in Massachusetts — his truthfulness on the juror questionnaire, and his answers when the judge questioned jurors a day before the trial ended. According to ABC7, Reddington requested the court preserve all 12 jurors' and six alternates' questionnaires, jury notes, sidebar recordings, court-officer logs, jury-room corridor video, and Desronvil's call, text and data-session records. Foreperson claims that Desronvil admitted 'reasonable doubt' but wanted to convict anyway are disputed by Desronvil, who said in a statement through his lawyer, 'I didn't have any doubts.'

Desronvil has not been accused of any wrongdoing in his jury service, but other jurors complained he was inflexible. Juror Nick Dargie told ABC News that Desronvil sometimes scrolled on his phone instead of engaging during deliberations. In a Sept. 18 statement released through his attorney, Edward Paltzik, Desronvil said he believed the physical evidence and prosecution case proved Clancy 'knew exactly what she was doing and planned.' Per ABC7 reporting, a fundraiser for his 'security, lawyers, and lost work' has raised nearly $375,000, and media scrutiny has surfaced past legal and financial troubles, including a 2021 domestic violence accusation that was later dismissed.

Clancy remains charged with murder in the January 2023 strangulation deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan in Duxbury, and is held in a psychiatric hospital while the case is unresolved. If the dismissal motion succeeds, the case ends without a verdict; if it fails and prosecutors retry her, they must again prove either she had no mental disease or defect, or that despite one she could know what she was doing. NBC News reports experts warn the public scrutiny of Desronvil — including from amateur sleuths — could create a 'chilling effect' on seating juries in future high-profile trials.

A court conference is scheduled for Sept. 29, where Reddington wants the juror investigation heard and where Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz could announce whether he will retry the case; Cruz's office declined to comment on the motions. Reddington told reporters after the mistrial that the other jurors felt 'robbed — by one man.' Meanwhile, Clancy's ex-husband Patrick Clancy, who appeared on 60 Minutes with his new wife Rachel Danis, told CBS he believes the case should be handled compassionately given the psychiatric illness involved, saying 'that doesn't mean no accountability.'