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Judge denies defense request to question holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Older man in dark suit with hand at chin beside woman in courtroom seating.
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday denied a request from lawyers for Lindsay Clancy to question the holdout juror in her triple-murder trial, ABC News reports. Clancy is charged with killing her three children. According to ABC News and the Daily Mail, Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. The New York Post and the Daily Mail report that Sullivan ruled the mistrial must be judged on what was known at the time, and that later information cannot be used to challenge it. Clancy’s defense lawyer, Kevin Reddington, has alleged that the juror lied on his jury questionnaire and used a cellphone during deliberations. A hearing is set for Nov. 2.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Judge William Sullivan denied a defense request to question holdout juror Michael Desronvil.

    Reported byLeft1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  2. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail

  3. Clancy’s lawyer alleges the juror lied on his jury questionnaire and used a cellphone during deliberations.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  4. Sullivan ruled that the mistrial must be judged on circumstances known at the time and that information uncovered after it cannot be used to challenge it.

    One side only: the rightReported byRight2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post

  5. A hearing is set for Nov. 2, when both sides are scheduled to present arguments.

    Reported byLeft1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    New York Post

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The other 11 jurors found Clancy not guilty.

    The Daily Mail reports that 11 jurors found Clancy not guilty because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. ABC News reports only that the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, and the mistrial followed.

  • The juror lied on his jury questionnaire and used a cellphone during deliberations.

    Clancy’s defense lawyer alleges this. The judge ruled that information uncovered after the mistrial cannot be used to challenge it, and the coverage gives no finding on the allegations.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that Judge William Sullivan denied the defense request to question the holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy’s trial and that a September mistrial followed a jury deadlock. The right-side outlets stress the juror’s alleged misconduct and the defense setback, while ABC News leads with the ruling itself.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    ABC News leads with the procedural ruling, denying a request to question the holdout juror, and places the mistrial and the charges in context.

    Lindsay Clancy murder trial: Judge denies request to question holdout juror
    ABC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-side headlines frame the ruling as a setback for the defense, with the Daily Mail stressing the juror’s refusal to acquit and the New York Post calling it a major blow.

    Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer Sensational language“suffers major blow”Calling the ruling a major blow to the lawyer adds drama to a procedural decision.More neutral: loses bid to investigate jurorDisagree with this highlight? in fight to investigate holdout juror
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right3

    refused to acquitwasn’t having itsuffers major blow

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    refused to acquitMore neutral: did not vote to acquit

    Refused implies a deliberate choice against a verdict, while the coverage only reports that the juror did not vote to acquit.

    Lindsay Clancy judge denies bid to question holdout juror who refused to acquit mom in murder of her three children

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    wasn’t having itMore neutral: denied the request

    The colloquial phrase conveys the judge’s attitude rather than describing the ruling itself.

    Sullivan wasn’t having it, and ruled Wednesday that the mistrial must only be evaluated based on the…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    suffers major blowMore neutral: loses bid to investigate juror

    Calling the ruling a major blow to the lawyer adds drama to a procedural decision.

    Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer suffers major blow in fight to investigate holdout juror

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • judge’s denial of the juror questioning
  • mistrial after no unanimous verdict
  • next hearing on Nov. 2

Leaves out

  • allegations that the juror lied on his jury questionnaire

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • alleged juror misconduct
  • defense setback
  • jurors’ vote tied to postpartum psychosis
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer Sensational language“suffers major blow”Calling the ruling a major blow to the lawyer adds drama to a procedural decision.More neutral: loses bid to investigate jurorDisagree with this highlight? in fight to investigate holdout juror

    The push by Lindsay Clancy's lawyer to investigate the lone holdout juror who forced a mistrial in her triple-murder case has been stopped in its tracks by the judge.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Lindsay Clancy judge denies bid to question holdout juror who Loaded verb“refused to acquit”Refused implies a deliberate choice against a verdict, while the coverage only reports that the juror did not vote to acquit.More neutral: did not vote to acquitDisagree with this highlight? mom in murder of her three children

    The Massachusetts judge who oversaw the Lindsay Clancy trial has denied a motion to question the one juror who refused to acquit the mother in the murder of her three children.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    ABC News, Oct 21, 5:01 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    58 min later

    Its first report, Oct 21, 5:59 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. ABC NewsLeftOct 21, 5:01 PM EDT
  2. Daily MailRightOct 21, 5:59 PM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 21, 6:22 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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