CNN Anchor Says ‘It’s Highly Unlikely’ any Jury Would Ever Agree on Lindsay Clancy Case — As Mistrial Possibility Grows

It is “highly unlikely” that any future jury will ever agree on the Lindsay Clancy case, said CNN anchor Boris Sanchez Wednesday.

Sanchez noted:

I guess legal guidance in the event of a jury that has become deadlocked. He read, quote, “You should consider that it is desirable that this case be decided. You should consider that you have been selected in the same manner and from the same source as any future jury would be. There is no reason to suppose that the case will ever be submitted to six people who are more intelligent, more impartial or more competent to decide it than you are, or that more or clearer evidence will be produced on one side or the other.” Effectively, the instructions point out that if they were to do this again, it’s highly likely that a future jury may not come to a consensus.

Dave Aronberg, former Palm Beach County state attorney and senator, told Sanchez, “So this is the equivalent of the Allen charge. The Tuey-Rodriguez charge. So judges are limited [in] how many times they can say this? Because if they this is too much, it’s strong-arming the jury.”

The judge, he continued, is essentially saying, “We’re not going to have another shot at this. You have to reach a verdict.”

Aronberg added:

This is more formal. This is the directive that you need to go back and try to come to an agreement. And if they still cannot, then under Massachusetts law, the judge can’t do it again unless the jury consents to it. So this is where it gets into the fourth quarter of the game here. If the jury doesn’t come to an agreement, this thing is going to be a mistrial.

Some have questioned whether the jury should have been sequestered during deliberations. In August Fox News contributor Josh Ritter said, “I think we ask a lot of jurors and judges feel like asking them to completely separate themselves from their loved ones for the period of time that they are deliberating is also asking too much.”

Watch the above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!