Lindsay Clancy’s defense team filed a motion to Judge William Sullivan on Friday asking that there be no more sidebars for the remainder of the triple-murder trial, and that all further proceedings be handled in open court.The motion was filed as jurors in the murder trial were about to head into their seventh day of deliberations at Plymouth Superior Court after proceedings ended Thursday with the defense calling for the removal of one juror.
The jury submitted a question after the lunch break Thursday; while Sullivan did not read the note in court, it appeared to have to do with reasonable doubt.He instead repeated his instructions on the definition of reasonable doubt and said each juror was brought in individually and asked whether they could follow his instructions before they were sent back to continue deliberations.“They’ve said at this point that they can,” Sullivan said.
“That was specifically addressed towards the specific question, and that’s what I’m doing.”Sullivan sent everyone home for the day around 4 p.m.This is not the first time the jury has indicated that it is having trouble coming to a verdict in the murder trial.
Jurors issued deadlock notes to Sullivan on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting the judge to issue the Tuey-Rodriguez instruction on Wednesday, sending the group of nine women and three men back to deliberate for the final time.Based on Massachusetts law, a judge can only send a jury back for deliberations twice before declaring a mistrial, unless jurors consent to further deliberations.
If the jury returns with a third deadlock note, Sullivan will likely declare a mistrial.The individual questioning Thursday took place after Sullivan first entered into a sidebar with the attorneys — which appeared to upset defense attorney Kevin Reddington.
It was not immediately clear what was said during the private conversation, but Reddington appeared animated and waved papers aggressively during the discussion, according to t...