A Massachusetts judge ruled Wednesday that the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial will not have his phone examined or face an inquiry from her defense attorney. Judge William Sullivan denied a motion filed by Clancy attorney Kevin Reddington for an evidentiary hearing, finding the request irrelevant under court precedent.
The juror, identified in court documents as Juror Doe but understood to be Michael Desronvil, was the only one of twelve who favored convicting Clancy of the strangling deaths of her three young children. The other eleven jurors wanted her found not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis. The potential evidence to dismiss the juror came to light only after the mistrial was declared, Sullivan wrote.
Sullivan noted that the defense did not raise the issue of the juror lying on the jury questionnaire before the mistrial was declared. The judge stated that the matter originated in media reports and that post-trial information potentially affecting impartiality cannot be used to attack the determination that a mistrial was manifestly necessary. Sullivan also observed that Reddington did not raise the possibility of improper cell phone use until after the mistrial was declared.
The ruling emphasized that further inquiry into the holdout juror is inappropriate because courts must not probe a juror's subjective reasoning, thought process, view of the case, or relationship to other jurors. The mandate also prohibits inquiring into the jury's deliberative content, collective thought process, or any disagreement among the jury.
Desronvil told Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany last week that he stands by his decision not to compromise with the other eleven jurors. He has referred to Clancy's slain children as "The Three Angels." They were Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Desronvil denied lying under oath on his juror questionnaire and stated that jurors only used their cellphones during breaks from deliberations. He also denied claims from other jurors that he ignored reasonable doubts about the case.
"Everybody had their cellphones and our cell phone was used when we had a break," Desronvil said. "So not during deliberation."
Reddington has asked the court to preserve records from all twelve panelists and six alternates, including written responses, hallway video footage near the deliberation room, and phone usage logs. However, Reddington specifically requested an examination of Desronvil's phone between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on each deliberation day.
Clancy returns to court on Nov. 2.