As jury deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy trial stretch into a sixth day in Massachusetts, some close observers of the courtroom have focused on an unexpected detail attached to her wheelchair — one that legal commentators say may not help her case.
A pink sticker with the phrase “#sidebah” was seen on the drink holder of Clancy’s wheelchair in images captured this week by the court’s official photographer.
The slogan appears to play off the way Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, pronounces “sidebar” with his Boston accent. The term has since taken on a life of its own online, becoming a satirical meme among people following the high-profile trial.
Sidebars — the private bench discussions between the judge and attorneys that are not heard by jurors or the public — have been a recurring part of the tense proceedings, as prosecutors and the defense have repeatedly clashed with Judge William Sullivan.
Outside court on Thursday, some Clancy supporters told Our News Outlet they viewed the sticker as harmless humor and a lighthearted nod to Reddington, who has become a prominent figure among those rallying behind the accused child murderer.
However, California legal analyst Neama Rahmani, who is not connected to the case, cautioned that the sticker could be read very differently — as Clancy appearing to make a joke out of the trial.
Florida attorney Andrea Lewis echoed that concern, warning that if members of the deadlocked jury noticed the sticker, it could influence how they interpret Clancy’s demeanor.
“A trial about the deaths of three children is not the place for jokes. A sticker may seem insignificant, but jurors see everything and may view that as a sign that she is not taking the trial seriously. That is an enormous risk to take when your life is literally on the line,” Lewis said.
A pink sticker reading ‘#sidebah’ and affixed to the drink holder on Lindsay Clancy’s wheelchair was caught on camera by the official court photographer this week
It appears to be a reference to the way Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, says ‘sidebar’ in his Boston accent
The phrase has gone viral online as a satirical meme shared during the trial
Clancy’s supporters outside court Thursday told Our News Outlet they see the sticker as a joke
The panel of nine women and three men has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict after 36 hours of deliberations. There appears to be an 11-1 split among jurors.
Clancy is accused of murdering her three children by strangling them with exercise bands in January 2023. She has admitted to the killings but insists she is not guilty of murder because she was in the grip of severe postpartum psychosis at the time.
She is now paralyzed from the waist down after having jumped from her second-story bedroom in an apparent suicide attempt immediately after the killings.
Tara Mill, 59, a nursing assistant from Plymouth, Massachusetts, who was outside court on Thursday supporting Clancy, explained the origin of the #sidebah meme.
‘Oh, it’s kind of a joke, because of Reddington, him saying “I really don’t want to go to the sidebah”. So people are making memes out of that,’ Mill said.
Mill added that she had seen the phrase repeatedly on TikTok.
The phrase appears to have first emerged online in 2024 during the high-profile Karen Read murder trial, which was also held in Massachusetts, but its usage has been particularly widespread in recent months amid the global fascination with Clancy’s case.
Caryn Marshall, 52, a labor and delivery nurse and mother who lives in Duxbury, where the killings took place at the Clancy family home, was also outside court on Thursday.
She described Reddington as something of an unlikely folk hero.
‘He’s a really good, intelligent, old school lawyer. Like, they don’t make him like that anymore. He’s amazing to watch. Yeah, you a class confidence and He’s a gentleman. He’s a gentleman first,’ she said.
‘I think everyone should have a Kevin in their corner. That would be my hashtag, Kevin in my corner.’
But many social media critics aren’t seeing the funny side.
‘Lindsay Clancy has the audacity to put a “joke” sticker “SideBah” on her drink holder?!?!!! Does she think that’s all a joke?!’ one X user wrote.
An aggrieved Reddit user called the sticker ‘absolutely disgusting’.
Lewis, a former prosecutor, told Our News Outlet: ‘Jurors see everything. They notice how a defendant is dressed, her body language, her facial expressions, who she interacts with, and whether she smiles or laughs at a moment that may seem inappropriate.
‘That scrutiny is particularly intense in a case like this, where the allegations are so disturbing and Lindsay Clancy is sitting just feet away from the jury.
‘Something as small as a sticker may seem insignificant outside the courtroom, but inside it, there really are no small details. Fairly or unfairly, jurors are constantly observing the Lindsay and forming impressions from everything they see.’
Rahmani, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, said he ultimately believed the sticker was ‘harmless’ and unlikely to sway jurors either way.
‘It’s a local Massachusetts jury, so I don’t think a wheelchair sticker is going to move the needle one way or another and get these jurors to come around and reach a verdict. I think we’re marching towards the very high likelihood of a mistrial,’ he said.
This comes as tensions have boiled over amid a verdict deadlock, with one holdout juror accused of failing to follow the law.
The Clancy family not long before the killings
Clancy was paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from her second-story bedroom following the killings
Clancy’s lawyer Kevin Reddington has been praised and memed online by Clancy supporters
On Thursday, a note from the jury foreperson was given to Judge William Sullivan claiming that one of the twelve is not following the law as it pertains to reasonable doubt.
That development prompted Clancy’s lawyer to request the holdout juror be thrown off the trial. Sullivan denied that request and sent the deadlocked jury home for the evening.
But Rahmani warned that if the case were to end in a mistrial and be retried, prosecutors could potentially use the wheelchair sticker to argue Clancy was not taking the proceedings seriously.
‘You could potentially raise it in opening or closing: she’s not taking it seriously, she thinks this is a joke. That definitely happens a lot. I have used that argument,’ Rahmani said.
He added that such an argument could also be relevant to a judge when determining a sentence, if a defendant appeared not to have sincerely accepted responsibility.
Clancy has appeared largely stone-faced throughout proceedings, but broke down several times during testimony and as graphic evidence was presented to the jury.
Rahmani said: ‘If I were her attorney, I would not want her to make light of the proceedings at all.’
He praised Reddington’s performance in the trial, saying the defense had far exceeded his expectations.
Rahmani said that before the trial he had viewed the case as a ‘layup’ for prosecutors, given how rarely insanity defenses succeed.
‘I was interviewed about this case weeks before trial, and I said that this would be a layup for the prosecution. As the case progressed, when the closings and the summations finished, I predicted either a not criminally responsible [verdict] or a hung jury. That’s how well the defense has done in this case,’ he said.
‘You play with the hand that you’re dealt [as a defense attorney]. And this was a very difficult hand: three dead children under the age of five.’
Jury deliberations will continue Friday.
