Karen Read's appeal to be heard by full panel on Massachusetts' highest court
BOSTON - A single justice for the highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that Karen Read's appeal to dismiss two charges will be heard by the full panel before a decision is made.
Karen Read decision
"I hereby reserve and report this case, without decision, for determination by the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth," Justice Elizabeth Dewar wrote in her ruling issued late Thursday.
Justice Dewar had the power to dismiss the appeal entirely or pass it on to the full panel of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She chose to do the latter, meaning that the full panel will hear arguments from both sides about why two charges Read faces should or should not be dismissed. Legal experts have told WBZ-TV the argument by Read's attorneys is a novel issue and would require the SJC to make new law in the state.
There is no date on the docket yet for when the full panel will hear Read's case, but the process could take weeks or months and delay her second trial, which is currently scheduled to begin January 27, 2025. Read's team is required to file a brief as a next step in this case by next Wednesday, September 25.
Karen Read's appeal
Read's attorneys had appealed a decision in August by Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone, who denied Read's motion to dismiss two charges against her following her first trial.
Read argued that jurors had voted behind closed doors to acquit her on charges of second degree murder and leaving the scene, based on information her attorneys learned through conversations with a handful of jurors after her first trial.
However, the jury never formally acquitted Read and only told the court it was hopelessly deadlocked, leading to a mistrial on July 1. Therefore, Judge Cannone denied the motion to dismiss the two charges and Read's attorneys appealed this decision to the SJC.
Who is Karen Read?
Karen Read is a Massachusetts woman who is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV after a night of drinking in January 2022. Prosecutors argue this was an intentional killing but Read's lawyers say she was framed by police and witnesses and is an innocent woman.
Her second trial will be lead by a special prosecutor brought in earlier this by the Norfolk County District Attorney's office to handle the case.