Lindsay Clancy trial puts spotlight on defense attorney, prosecutors

The widespread attention on the trial of Lindsay Clancy — which ended in a mistrial Friday after seven days of deliberations — put an unlikely spotlight on the three attorneys who led the nearly six-week trial.

Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, and the two prosecutors, Plymouth County Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, have become household names for people who followed the trial, every moment of which was broadcast online and on TV from Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Clancy pleaded not guilty to three murder charges for the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan at the family’s home in Duxbury, a Boston suburb, on Jan. 24, 2023.

Throughout the trial, Reddington argued Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled her children and attempted to take her own life. Sprague and Buckingham argued that Clancy is criminally responsible for her children’s deaths.

All three lawyers are scheduled to be in court on Sept. 29 to determine next steps following the mistrial. On Friday, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz declined to announce an immediate decision about retrying Clancy.

Here is what to know about Reddington, Sprague and Buckingham.

Kevin Reddington

Reddington is a criminal defense attorney in private practice in Brockton, Massachusetts, a town around 37 miles south of Boston.

He attended Suffolk University Law School, and graduated in 1975, according to a biography linked to on his website. 

Reddington's list of clients is diverse, including Catherine Greig, the longtime romantic partner of famed gangster Whitey Bulger, and others, according to news articles linked to on his website.

Reddington represented Clancy in court on his own, sitting next to her daily at the defense table. He said he was helped on the case by his son, Patrick Reddington, who is also an attorney.

Kevin Reddington said following the trial that he never expected the trial to receive the attention it did, including the attention he received specifically as Clancy’s attorney.

“I figured it would have some connection with people dealing with postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, and the medical and psychiatric care. I didn’t realize it would be like this,” Reddington said, pointing to the swarm of media and onlookers surrounding him.

Jennifer Sprague

Sprague has worked at the Plymouth County District Attorney's office since 2003, according to her LinkedIn page.

In her current role, Second Assistant District Attorney, Sprague supervises all homicides that occur in Plymouth County as well as all firearm and narcotics cases, according to her profile.

Throughout her career, she has tried 28 homicide trials and over 40 Superior Court cases and “hundreds” of district court cases, her profile states.

She graduated from New England Law Boston in 2003, according to her LinkedIn page.

Sprague delivered the closing arguments in the Clancy trial.

Shanan Buckingham

Buckingham leads the Family Protection Unit at the Plymouth County District Attorney's office, where she was worked since 2011, according to her LinkedIn page.

Prior to joining the DA’s office, Buckingham spent three months as a clerk at a law firm specializing in “civil rights litigation and criminal defense,” her profile states.

Buckingham graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2011, according to her LinkedIn page.

Following the trial, Cruz, the Plymouth County DA, thanked his prosecutors for their work on the case and said they had been threatened on social media throughout.

“The way they were vilified and portrayed on social media is disgusting to me,” he said. “Threats to them and their families, their addresses being posted, it’s unfortunate that in today’s society professionals are placed at risk for merely doing their jobs… It is the facts that ultimately decide how you act, not the opinions of observers several steps removed from our court proceedings.”

Watch a special edition of “20/20,” “The Trial of Lindsay Clancy,” airing Friday, Sept. 4, at 9/8c on ABC, streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.