Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder case ended in a mistrial. What happens next?

Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger/Pool/AP

The judge has declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial after the jury deliberated for seven days without reaching a unanimous verdict. So, now what happens?

Judge William Sullivan told the parties Friday afternoon he’d like to retry the case later in the fall. In the meantime, the judge scheduled a status conference for the end of the month.

Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington initially said he wants to get the second trial underway as soon as possible, ideally the week after next.

Judge Sullivan told Reddington, “My thinking is to try it sooner rather than later, but I’m not sure that sooner.” The judge said he’d check the courthouse schedule and his own.

The lead prosecutor said she’d be out of the state for the next two weeks but didn’t offer an opinion on trial scheduling beyond that.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters after the trial adjourned Friday that the prosecution will decide whether to actually retry the case at a future court hearing.

“There will be no decisions made today regarding that,” he said.

Ultimately, the decision to pursue another trial is up to Cruz, a longtime Democratic prosecutor whose office runs an advocacy center that serves child abuse victims .

In the interim, Clancy will return to Tewksbury Hospital in Massachusetts, where she’ll continue being held without bail on her murder charges.

Clancy is currently charged with three counts of first-degree murder. In Massachusetts, the most severe murder charge requires a jury trial . The district attorney could offer the defense an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

Prosecutors “would retry her as a first degree, or perhaps decide at a later time to offer a plea deal for a lesser charge. Only the DA can do that,” Boston defense attorney Elyse Hershon told CNN.

If the district attorney opts to downgrade charges against Clancy, the parties could potentially come to a plea agreement to avoid a second trial. Reddington has told reporters it’s up to the district attorney to initiate those conversations.

Oftentimes, prosecutors will ask the victims’ family for their perspective. In this case, because the families of the victims and the defendant are intertwined, competing interests may interfere with consensus.

Attorneys from either side could file motions in the interim – one might make a strategic request to move the case to another jurisdiction in the state, arguing they can’t get a fair trial in Plymouth County.

A Clancy supporter was arrested Tuesday afternoon after she allegedly filmed jurors in the courthouse parking lot. She’s been charged with aggravated intimidation of a witness or juror and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Wednesday. Attorneys could argue the jury pool is tainted or a new panel could similarly be subject to intimidation in Plymouth County if Clancy is tried there a second time.

The parties also may relitigate some issues over what evidence and witnesses should be admissible in a new trial.

“There could be a changed position on some of those motions given what happened in the trial, and they could relitigate it because new information has come to light,” Hershon said.

Reddington, who’s been openly critical of the prosecution’s expert witnesses, might seek to bar them from testifying again.

Those expert witnesses, including Dr. Avram Mack , interviewed Clancy about the killings in recent months and testified at trial about her mindset.

However, the defense is not required to allow those experts any access to Clancy going forward, according to Hershon.

格雷格·德尔/Pool/《爱国者纪事报》/Pool/美联社

林赛·克兰西三重谋杀案的陪审团经过七天的审议仍未能达成一致裁决，法官宣布审判无效。那么，接下来会发生什么？

威廉·沙利文法官周五下午告诉各方，他希望在秋季晚些时候重审此案。与此同时，法官安排在本月底举行一次案件状态会议。

克兰西的律师凯文·雷丁顿最初表示，他希望尽快开始第二次审判，理想情况下是在下下周。

苏利文法官告诉雷丁顿：“我的想法是尽快尝试，但我不确定什么时候最合适。”法官表示他会查看法院的日程安排以及他自己的日程。

首席检察官表示，她将在接下来的两周内离开本州，但除此之外，她没有就审判日程安排发表意见。

普利茅斯县地方检察官蒂莫西·克鲁兹在周五庭审结束后告诉记者，检方将在未来的法庭听证会上决定是否重新审理此案。

他说：“今天不会就此事做出任何决定。”

最终，是否进行另一次审判的决定权在于克鲁兹，他是一位资深的民主党检察官，其办公室运营着一个为儿童虐待受害者提供服务的援助中心。

在此期间，克兰西将返回马萨诸塞州的特克斯伯里医院，她将继续因谋杀指控而被关押，不得保释。

克兰西目前被控三项一级谋杀罪。在马萨诸塞州，最严重的谋杀罪需要陪审团审判。地方检察官可能会给辩方一个机会，让其认罪较轻的罪名。

波士顿辩护律师伊莉丝·赫尔肖恩告诉CNN：“检察官可能会以一级谋杀罪重新审判她，或者稍后决定提出认罪协议，以较轻的罪名起诉她。只有地方检察官才能这样做。”

如果地方检察官选择降低对克兰西的指控级别，双方或许可以达成认罪协议，从而避免第二次审判。雷丁顿告诉记者，是否发起这些对话取决于地方检察官。

通常情况下，检察官会征求受害者家属的意见。在本案中，由于受害者家属和被告家属关系密切，双方利益冲突可能会影响共识的达成。

双方律师在此期间可以提出动议——一方可能会提出战略性请求，将案件移至该州的另一个司法管辖区，理由是他们在普利茅斯县无法获得公正的审判。

周二下午，一名克兰西的支持者因涉嫌在法院停车场拍摄陪审员而被捕。她被控严重恐吓证人或陪审员，并在周三的提审中拒不不认罪。如果克兰西在普利茅斯县再次受审，律师可能会辩称陪审团成员已被污染，或者新的陪审团也可能面临类似的恐吓。

双方还可以就新审判中哪些证据和证人可以采纳等问题重新进行辩论。

赫尔肖恩说：“鉴于审判中发生的事情，其中​​一些动议的立场可能会改变，而且由于出现了新的信息，他们可能会重新提起诉讼。”

雷丁顿曾公开批评检方的专家证人，他可能会试图阻止他们再次出庭作证。

包括 Avram Mack 博士在内的专家证人，在最近几个月采访了 Clancy，了解她的杀人情况，并在审判中作证，说明她的心态。

然而，据赫尔肖恩称，辩方没有义务允许这些专家今后接触克兰西。