A Massachusetts judge overseeing the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy gave jurors a Tuey-Rodriguez charge Wednesday after they reported for a second time that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.The instruction is given to a deadlocked jury to encourage continued deliberations while reminding jurors they should not abandon honestly held beliefs simply to reach a verdict.Judge William Sullivan sent jurors back to deliberate Tuesday after they first indicated they were struggling to agree.After the jury again reported that it was deadlocked, Sullivan delivered the formal charge.A Tuey-Rodriguez charge is unique to Massachusetts and is sometimes called a "dynamite charge" because it is intended to help break a jury impasse without coercing a verdict.LINDSAY CLANCY VERDICT STILL WITHIN REACH – RETIRED MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE PUSHES BACK ON HUNG-JURY PREDICTIONSLindsay Clancy arrives for day 3 of deliberations in her murder trial.
(Greg Derr/Pool The Patriot Ledger via AP)The instruction takes its name from two Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decisions.In Commonwealth v.
Tuey (1851), the court approved an instruction encouraging deadlocked jurors to re-examine their views with an open mind.More than a century later, in Commonwealth v.
Rodriguez (1973), the state's highest court revised that language to remove pressure on minority or holdout jurors, creating a neutral instruction that asks all jurors to carefully consider one another's views while maintaining their own honestly held convictions.Receiving a Tuey-Rodriguez charge does not mean a verdict is imminent.The instruction is generally considered a necessary step before a judge declares a mistrial because of a hung jury, although it often results in jurors reaching a unanimous verdict after further deliberations.LINDSAY CLANCY’S FUTURE COULD REST WITH ‘PROSECUTION DOCTORS’ AS CASE ECHOES INFAMOUS MAINE KILLINGS: EXPERTAttorney Kevin Reddington holds up a display board of a text message Lindsay C...