On Tuesday, the jury in Lindsay Clancy’s trial informed the judge of their inability to reach a unanimous verdict. This situation of a deadlocked jury is not new in Massachusetts. Some recent high-profile cases include Karen Read in 2024 and Emanuel Lopes in 2023 and 2024. These cases provide insights into the potential duration of jury deliberations when progress seems halted.

Hung Jury: Case Examples

Emanuel Lopes faced charges for the murder of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna in 2018. His first trial in 2023 concluded with a mistrial due to a hung jury. His second trial in 2024 also encountered a deadlock on three occasions before achieving a unanimous guilty verdict after 32 hours over six days.

Karen Read’s trial in 2024 saw a similar scenario. After 27 hours over five days, the jury remained deadlocked, leading to a mistrial. The jurors signaled their deadlock three times, with declarations at intervals of 17.5 and 23.5 hours, before the mistrial was declared. Later, she was acquitted in a subsequent trial a year later.

The Tuey-Rodriguez Instruction

In both cases, judges issued what is known as a “dynamite” charge, or the “Tuey-Rodriguez” instruction, to push for a decision. Originating from a 1973 case, this instruction allows judges to send juries back to deliberate multiple times. Additional attempts are possible if jurors request legal clarifications.

During a deadlock, judges will confer with attorneys, then read the Tuey-Rodriguez charge. This charge emphasizes the importance of reaching a verdict and implies the jury’s competence. The instruction addresses the desirability of case resolution, stating, “You should consider that it is desirable that the 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 persons 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. With all this in mind, it is your duty to decide this case if you can do so conscientiously.”

If a jury remains deadlocked after this guidance, the judge has the option to declare a mistrial. In the context of Lindsay Clancy’s case, a mistrial would mean Clancy remains “in custody” at Tewksbury State Hospital for psychiatric care. Timothy Cruz, the Plymouth County district attorney, then faces the choice to retry the case, potentially on different charges, or to forgo reinitiating the trial.