BOSTON / PLYMOUTH, Mass. — A single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, heard an emergency defense bid to pause Judge William F. Sullivan’s planned mistrial declaration in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial — then took the stay motion under advisement, the Boston Globe reported from its live blog.

Sullivan had said earlier Friday he would declare a mistrial after the jury’s third deadlock note — “It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision” — then gave Clancy’s defense about one hour to seek an emergency stay before dismissing the panel (NBC News; Globe). Defense attorney Dana Goldblatt told Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt in a Zoom hearing that the stay motion was filed at 12:29 p.m., just before Sullivan’s deadline, the Globe reported. Kevin Reddington is also on the defense team pursuing the stay.

Wendlandt said she would take the motion under advisement after arguments from both sides and indicated she would decide promptly, according to the Globe. Goldblatt argued the problem goes beyond ordinary disagreement: that an apparent holdout juror is refusing to follow the court’s reasonable-doubt instructions and that the court should inquire or remove that juror. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague argued jurors were simply disagreeing over how to apply the law — the kind of disagreement that arises in deliberations. Earlier Friday, Reddington said in Plymouth Superior Court that the panel was split 11–1 for acquittal and accused the dissenting juror of spurning reasonable-doubt instructions; Sullivan has repeatedly refused to dump that juror, the Globe reported. Sprague has said there has been no reliable public indication of how the majority is leaning.

Clancy, 36, faces three first-degree murder counts in the January 2023 strangling deaths of Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, in Duxbury. The defense asserts postpartum psychosis / lack of criminal responsibility; prosecutors say the killings were planned. For the midday hour-window flash, see our earlier update. This piece will be updated when Wendlandt rules or Sullivan formally declares a mistrial.

Sources