Lindsay Clancy defense attorney Kevin Reddington accused of violating Constitution, likely faces bar complaint

The attorney for the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial says his client based his decision on a “mountain of evidence,” accusing Clancy's defense attorney of violating the U.S. Constitution for going after the juror for refusing to side with the other 11. He said they plan to file a bar complaint. 

In an interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” attorney Edward Paltzik said his client, juror Michael P. Desronvil, had “zero doubt” that Clancy was criminally responsible for the murder of her three young children.

“The question now is, do we want to have a Constitution? Do we want to have a Sixth Amendment?” Paltzik asked. “Do we want jurors to feel safe when they show up to perform their civic duty?”

“Because we’re not going to have a criminal justice system if jurors are afraid of reprisals,” Paltzik added.

Paltzik criticized Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, for calling the holdout juror an “obstructionist,” saying the accusation is “the most outrageous thing” he has heard in 20 years of practicing law. He called the suggestion that his client broke the law “categorically false.”

“In accusing a juror of committing a crime, Kevin Reddington is clearly violating the Sixth Amendment. He’s clearly violating the right to trial by jury,” Paltzik argued.

Paltzik said Reddington is setting a “nightmarish precedent.” Reddington has filed a motion asking the court to investigate Desronvil’s alleged history of domestic violence and his alleged cellphone use during deliberations. Paltzik said he expects the court to deny the motion.

“You can’t investigate a juror because the juror followed the law and the evidence and came to a different conclusion than the one that you wanted, Kevin Reddington,” he said. “Kevin Reddington wanted this for his legacy. He wanted so desperately to win this trial."

When asked whether he and his client plan to file a bar complaint, Paltzik said there is a "100 percent" chance of that happening. When asked if they plan to file any defamation lawsuits, Paltzik said that it is a "bit early to talk about lawsuits." 

"But I can say this, Kevin Reddington's conduct is not consistent with the standards of professionalism that we expect from members of the bar," Paltzik said. 

Desronvil was the only juror who disagreed with the other 11, who all found that Clancy was not criminally responsible for killing Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, on Jan. 24, 2023. Under Massachusetts law, a person is not criminally responsible if a mental illness left him or her unable to understand that the conduct was wrong or to follow the law.

After days of deliberation, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial last month when the jury could not reach a verdict. The former labor and delivery nurse is due back in court on Tuesday.

The Massachusetts mother was on trial, accused of strangling her three children with exercise bands at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She then attempted to kill herself by jumping from a window.

Her defense team did not dispute that Clancy caused the children’s deaths but argued that she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis at the time.

Prosecutors argued that Clancy planned the killings, noting that she sent her husband out to pick up takeout and stop at a pharmacy before she killed the children and attempted suicide.

After the mistrial, Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, said through his attorney that the prospect of a new trial is “extraordinarily painful.”

“Patrick Clancy is grateful to the Court and to the jurors for their hard work, their commitment, and their perseverance. The loss of Patrick's children is something from which he will never recover and from which there will never be closure,” attorney David Meier said in a statement on Patrick Clancy’s behalf.

“The prospect of reliving this tragedy through another trial is extraordinarily painful — for Patrick, for his family, and for all of us,” the statement continued.

Patrick Clancy found the children in the basement of the family’s home in 2023.

In a recent interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Patrick Clancy said he has forgiven his ex-wife for killing their three young children, even though she has never asked for his forgiveness.