The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!

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Lindsay Clancy holdout juror lawyers up — and his new attorney comes out swinging

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BS BULLETIN:

  • Michael P. Desronvil, the lone holdout in Lindsay Clancy’s 11-1 mistrial, has retained attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik after facing intense public scrutiny.
  • Paltzik, who previously represented Donald Trump in his lawsuit against CBS, called Desronvil an “American Hero and Champion of Justice” and warned that people who have attacked him could face accountability.
  • The attorney says Desronvil is staying at an undisclosed location in northern New England and will not give interviews for now.

The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has lawyered up — and his new attorney isn’t exactly easing quietly into the case.

Attorney Edward Andrew Paltzik announced Thursday that he is now representing Michael P. Desronvil, the juror whose refusal to join the other 11 jurors resulted in a mistrial earlier this month.

Paltzik immediately launched a forceful public defense of his new client, calling Desronvil an “American Hero and Champion of Justice” and asking supporters to pray for him and help protect him.

He also issued a warning.

Paltzik said those he believes have “viciously attacked” Desronvil will be held accountable “to the maximum extent of the law and beyond.”

The attorney said Desronvil is currently “safe and sound” at an undisclosed location in rural northern New England. Paltzik followed up Friday by announcing that neither he nor Desronvil would be granting interviews for the time being.

“There will be a time for accountability and a time for the real story of the Lindsay Clancy Trial to be told,” Paltzik wrote, while asking reporters and others to stay away from his client’s home and stop trying to determine his whereabouts.

Paltzik isn’t a stranger to high-profile litigation.

He previously represented President Donald Trump in Trump’s federal lawsuit against CBS over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. CBS parent Paramount ultimately settled that case for $16 million.

His arrival comes as Desronvil faces extraordinary scrutiny following the collapse of Clancy’s six-week murder trial.

The jury was divided 11-1, with Desronvil favoring conviction while the other 11 jurors favored finding Clancy not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. Several of those jurors subsequently gave interviews describing increasingly contentious deliberations and claiming Desronvil had expressed doubts about the prosecution’s case.

Desronvil is now disputing that account.

“I didn’t have any doubts,” he said in a statement released through his representatives.

Desronvil said he was attempting to discuss different theories during deliberations when other jurors interpreted his comments as doubt. He maintains the physical evidence, witnesses, and the prosecution’s presentation convinced him Clancy knew what she was doing.

Desronvil has also faced scrutiny over a 2021 domestic-violence assault-and-battery charge that was later dismissed. CBS News reported that questions have subsequently been raised about what information was disclosed during jury selection.

Paltzik has made clear that his immediate concern is his client’s safety and privacy rather than another round of interviews.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Clancy remains charged with murdering her three children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — in January 2023. Her attorneys argued at trial that she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis.

Prosecutors argued that Clancy planned the killings and understood what she was doing. Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial after the jury repeatedly reported that it could not reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy is scheduled to return to Plymouth Superior Court Sept. 29 as the case moves toward its next phase.

And now the juror at the center of the 11-1 split has something he didn’t have during deliberations: A lawyer doing the talking for him.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

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