12 of 18 jurors selected so far for Lindsay Clancy's Massachusetts murder trial
After two days, 12 total jurors have been selected out of a desired 18 for Lindsay Clancy's murder trial. So far, seven women and five men are seated on the jury.
Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2023 deaths of her children - 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan. The 35-year-old has pleaded not guilty.
Eight new jurors were seated on Tuesday in Plymouth Superior Court. Of the five seated on Monday, one dropped out of the case for unknown reasons.
Jurors were questioned about their ability to be impartial, if they could handle a potential eight-week trial, and their own mental health or experience with a family member's mental health.
"The judge needs to tread very lightly here," said WBZ legal analyst Jennifer Roman, talking about how jurors are being asked about their mental health.
Clancy is claiming she is not guilty by reason of insanity, saying she was overmedicated for postpartum mental health issues and suffering from postpartum psychosis.
"I think that given the nature of the mental health claims in this case, and the nature of the alleged crime, that this is very triggering, and it could be very triggering for a potential juror who does have mental health, you know, some experience with mental health, whether it was their own or someone else's," Roman said.
The judge has been telling selected jurors to tentatively plan to return to the courthouse Thursday, signaling a hope for jury selection to wrap up on Wednesday.
In addition, Clancy's defense attorney is asking the judge to limit the number of first responders allowed to testify at trial.
In a filed motion – which has not yet been argued in front of the judge – lawyer Kevin Reddington asked the judge to limit prosecutors to calling just one of 18 first responders who were at the Duxbury crime scene in 2023. To call more would introduce repetitive evidence and be unfairly prejudicial to his client, his motion stated.
"Here, where the prosecution has listed a total of 18 first responders as part of their potential witnesses, that does seem excessive on its face," Roman explained. "However, maybe not. If each one of those first responders had a different interaction, or a different view, or a different something that they can bring to the jurors to consider, it would not be duplicative."
Roman believes the judge will allow prosecutors to call as many witnesses as needed and give the defense the chance to object during trial.
