The most consequential thing said in Lindsay Clancy’s courtroom on Tuesday may not have been about evidence at all. It was about a calendar. Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, told Judge William Sullivan he cannot start another trial before June of next year.
That means that if District Attorney Timothy Cruz decides to retry Clancy, a second jury probably will not hear the case until summer 2027 at the earliest. Here is what was said, why the judge is not happy about it, and why the delay does not help Clancy’s speedy-trial rights the way people might assume.
What was said about a trial date
- Reddington: not available for a retrial “until June of next year,” Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz reported. LA Magazine reported he told the court he “could not begin another trial before June.”
- Both sides: prosecutors and Reddington agreed they were not ready to discuss a potential new trial date, according to Ruiz.
- The judge: Sullivan “said he didn’t want to kick things down the road,” Ruiz reported. LA Magazine reported he “expressed frustration that a date had not yet been selected” and wants the parties ready to discuss a new trial date at the November 2 hearing.
- The DA: Cruz told reporters outside court that his office still had not decided whether to go forward with a second trial, according to LA Magazine. Ruiz reported Cruz answered only a handful of questions and denied a heckler’s accusation that he hates women.
The retrial clock: one year, with exceptions
Massachusetts’ speedy-trial rule, Mass. R. Crim. P. 36, has a specific provision for retrials. Under Rule 36(b)(1)(D), “If a retrial of the defendant is ordered, the trial shall commence within one year after the date the action occasioning the retrial becomes final, as extended by subdivision (b)(2).” The mistrial was declared September 4, 2026. Measured from that date, the one-year mark falls in early September 2027.
June 2027 is inside that year even before any exclusions. And the rule excludes a great deal of time from the count. Under Rule 36(b)(2):
- “delay resulting from hearings on pretrial motions” is excluded. The defense has filed a not-guilty motion, a double jeopardy motion and a juror-inquiry motion, and the November 2 hearing is about them.
- up to 30 days while “any proceeding concerning the defendant is actually under advisement” is excluded. The not-guilty motion went under advisement Tuesday.
- “delay resulting from interlocutory appeals” is excluded. If the double jeopardy motion is denied and the defense seeks review from the Supreme Judicial Court, that time does not count.
- delay from “a continuance granted by a judge … at the request of the defendant or his counsel” is excluded if the judge finds on the record that the ends of justice outweigh the interest in a speedy trial.
In other words, a defense lawyer who says he cannot try the case until June is not building a speedy-trial argument for his client. Delay the defense asks for, or that flows from the defense’s own motions, is the kind of delay Rule 36 is designed to exclude.
Why a long gap still matters
Open-ended calendars carry practical costs in a case like this. Witnesses scatter. Memories fade. Seventy-two witnesses testified for the Commonwealth in the first trial, according to its own filing. And the longer a case sits, the longer a defendant who is presumed innocent remains confined. Clancy has been held at Tewksbury State Hospital since 2023.
There is also the publicity. Prosecutors filed a motion Monday asking him to restrict what the lawyers say publicly, arguing that the publicity has “inevitably tainted any further venire.” Every month between trials is another month of coverage a future jury pool absorbs.
What a June start would mean
- November 2: arguments on double jeopardy, the juror inquiry and the gag order, plus a trial-date discussion.
- Any time: a written ruling on the not-guilty motion. If granted, there is no retrial at all.
- The retrial decision: Cruz has not made it.
- Possible appeal: a denied double jeopardy claim can go to the SJC before any retrial, which could consume months on its own.
- June 2027 or later: the earliest realistic window for a second trial, on Reddington’s calendar.
Frequently asked questions
When would Lindsay Clancy’s retrial be?
No date has been set and the DA has not decided whether to retry her. Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, told the court on September 29, 2026 that he is not available for a retrial until June 2027. The judge wants to discuss a trial date on November 2.
Does Massachusetts have a deadline for a retrial?
Yes. Mass. R. Crim. P. 36(b)(1)(D) requires a retrial to begin within one year after the action occasioning it becomes final, extended by excluded periods such as pretrial motion hearings, interlocutory appeals and continuances granted in the interests of justice.
Can Clancy use the delay to get the case dismissed?
Unlikely on the facts reported so far. Delay caused by defense motions, appeals or defense-requested continuances is excluded from the Rule 36 clock.
Has the DA decided to retry Lindsay Clancy?
Not as of September 29, 2026. District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters his office still had not made a decision, according to LA Magazine.
Sources: Courtroom reporting by Michael Ruiz (Fox News Digital) posted September 29, 2026; LA Magazine, “‘Where Is the Evidence?’ Lindsay Clancy’s Attorney Takes Aim at Prosecution’s Case,” September 29, 2026; the Commonwealth’s September 28 filings, read in full. Mass. R. Crim. P. 36 read at mass.gov. Lindsay Clancy is presumed innocent. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.