Once the SJC denied the stay, Judge Sullivan called the court back into session and announced that the emergency appeal had been rejected. He then formally declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder case, ending the first trial without a verdict.
In practical terms, the mistrial means that:
- There is no conviction and no acquittal at this stage.
- The case remains unresolved, and prosecutors retain the option to retry Clancy before a new jury.
- Clancy herself remains in custody or under whatever release conditions the court has set, pending any further proceedings.
The defense argued that intervention was necessary to avoid an avoidable mistrial in a case that is so time- and labor-intensive and that has captured so much public attention, and to preserve the defendant’s right to a fair trial by unbiased jurors applying the law.
