Lindsay Clancy loses bid to block judge

A Massachusetts judge cleared the way on Monday for Lindsay Clancy to be tried again on murder charges for killing her three young children at her home in 2023, saying a retrial would not unconstitutionally subject her to a double prosecution for the same crime.



Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth rejected a bid by Clancy's attorneys to have the case against her dismissed.



The judge on September 4 declared a mistrial after the jury reported that a holdout juror was preventing it from reaching a unanimous verdict.



The ruling means a second trial can occur next year.



Sullivan has scheduled a November 16 hearing to discuss when to hold that trial, which he has suggested could occur in March.



Defense lawyers had argued that such a retrial would violate Clancy's protection under the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment against being tried twice for the same crime, known as double jeopardy.



They said Sullivan acted prematurely in declaring a mistrial and it was not manifestly necessary.