Judge extends secrecy orders protecting jurors in Lindsay Clancy trial

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PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A Plymouth Superior Court judge has extended orders keeping key juror records sealed in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial, citing ongoing concerns about juror safety and privacy following the closely watched case.

In separate orders dated Sept. 22, Judge William F. Sullivan extended impoundment orders covering both confidential juror questionnaires and the venire list, which contains information about prospective jurors.

Sullivan wrote that the case continues to draw significant attention in Massachusetts and beyond, noting extensive media coverage and ongoing commentary across social media platforms.

According to Sullivan’s orders, concerns have been raised about efforts to identify jurors and their personal information. The court also referenced a separate incident in which a woman was arrested and charged after allegedly recording jurors leaving the courthouse without authorization.

Sullivan stressed that the court must balance public access to court records with jurors’ privacy and safety, while finding a “real and present” risk of personal harm to jurors and to the integrity of their service if the records are released.

While some jurors have chosen to speak publicly since a mistrial was declared on the murder charges on Sept. 4, the judge noted that most jurors and alternates have remained anonymous despite numerous requests for interviews.

The orders will remain in effect until the court takes further action. However, Sullivan emphasized that individual jurors are free to publicly identify themselves or discuss their service if they choose.

This all comes after a holdout juror in the case defends his choice not to join the 11 other jurors in finding the Duxbury mother not guilty by reason of insanity in the January 2023 killings of her three children.

Clancy’s legal team is also pursuing a potential double jeopardy challenge after the mistrial.

The double jeopardy clause protects defendants from being tried twice for the same offense under certain circumstances. Clancy’s attorneys are expected to argue that legal issues stemming from her mistrial should prevent a retrial.

Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in January 2023. Her attorney argues that postpartum psychosis led to her actions, while prosecutors say she knew what she was doing when she killed Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy, ages 5, 3, and 8 months.

Clancy carried out a suicide attempt immediately after the killings, cutting her wrists and neck before jumping from a second-story window. The injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down.

She remains under 24-hour supervision at Tewksbury State Hospital.

Her case is due back in court on September 29.

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