Judge delays trial for Lindsay Clancy to July at lawyer’s request, but won’t change venue
A Plymouth Superior Court judge on Tuesday agreed to delay a trial for Lindsay Clancy , the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three children, by several months at the request of both her defense lawyers and prosecutors.
But Judge Daniel Sullivan denied a defense motion for a change of venue for the murder trial, ultimately siding with prosecutors that the pretrial publicity around the case had not made it impossible to find a fair jury. Kevin Reddington, Clancy's defense lawyer, said he would renew the motion at the start of the trial.
Sullivan opted to delay the trial after both Reddington and Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said they would likely be unable to go to trial as scheduled in February.
Reddington said he had two trials scheduled for the winter and spring, and a recent string of cases delayed him in turning over necessary materials for government experts to conduct their own evaluations of Clancy.
"We've just got an awful lot of stuff that we have to accomplish," Reddington said.
Sprague echoed the defense lawyer, saying the government's experts were not yet in a position to even schedule evaluations of Clancy. Those evaluations, the preparation of reports and the exchanging of reports would all take time, she explained.
Sullivan, who had initially resisted the idea of a continuance, agreed a delay was necessary. He expressed some concern about ensuring witnesses were available in the summertime, but both sides expressed confidence they could make a July trial date work.
As for the change of venue, Reddington argued in court papers that the publicity surrounding Clancy's case made it so that opinions about her in Plymouth County were so set that a jury couldn't be found if the case stayed in the county. Arguing the issue before Sullivan, he acknowledged it was an uphill battle.
"I do not have any concern about the people, the citizens of the county of Plymouth, and their ability to sit in judgment on this case and be objective and fair," he said. "My concern is the overwhelming nature of the publicity on a case such as this, which is fairly understandable."
Reddington asked Sullivan to move the case to Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, where, he said, the jury pool would have been less exposed to the "hysterical publicity that has been involved with this case."
But Sprague argued that the size and makeup of Plymouth County, which has a population north of 500,000, and the fact that the crimes Clancy is charged with will have taken place three-and-a-half years before the trial date, supported keeping the trial in place. Sprague disputed the representation that the media coverage was prejudicial, saying the articles Reddington submitted to support his motion describe both sides of the case.
"I think we also have to consider the fact that the day and age we live in, it's not a day and age where there's local media and everything's condensed in one area," she said. "The entire Commonwealth has been exposed to all this media."
Sullivan ultimately denied the motion, saying he would issue a written order in the coming days.
Logistical challenges
The remainder of the hearing addressed some of the challenges of bringing Clancy to the courthouse in person.
Sullivan had originally ordered her to be transported from Tewksbury State Hospital to the Plymouth courthouse, but Clancy appeared via Zoom on Tuesday morning after Reddington filed a motion seeking specific accommodations.
On the night of her children's deaths, Clancy jumped from a second-story window at her Duxbury home, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She has not appeared in person for a court hearing since her arrest. Clancy is now confined to a wheelchair.
Jessica Kenny, a lawyer for the sheriff's office, explained that the office could transport her in a wheelchair accessible van, but she would be subject to a pat frisk and likely restrained while being moved. Kenny said the office was concerned about the possibility Clancy could harm herself or that someone could try and harm her while in transit.
But Reddington criticized the sheriff's office and suggested Clancy be brought to and from court by staff from the hospital where she is committed.
"I hate to break this to the sheriff's department. The authority is not in the sheriff's department, where they are the almighty and determine what's going to happen to Lindsay Clancy, as far as being in a van and being transported and being chained and being held in custody and all the rest of it," he said.
Sprague countered that Clancy, who, in addition to being committed, is being held without bail on three counts of murder, should not receive unique accommodations.
"There really should be no other special treatment other than getting her here safely and then making sure that she has adequate access to personal care situations," she said. "But I think that any other accommodations requested by the defense are unnecessary."
Sullivan did not immediately rule either way. Clancy's case is due back in court on Jan. 27.
Prosecutors have accused Clancy of deliberately plotting to strangle her three children. Reddington has said she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis at the time.
Read more about the case
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
