Karen Read returns to court as judge schedules dates for dismissal hearing, new trial
DEDHAM - Karen Read returned to court Monday afternoon for a hearing on how her case will go forward after her trial ended in a mistrial three weeks ago.
Read is accused of drunkenly running down her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in Canton, Massachusetts. She's been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of bodily injury or death.
Karen Read new trial date
During Monday's brief hearing, Judge Beverly Cannone scheduled arguments for the defense team's motion to dismiss for Aug. 9.
If the case moves forward after that, Cannone set a new jury trial date of Jan. 27, 2025 in Norfolk Superior Court.
Karen Read charges
Since the mistrial, her attorneys have filed motions to get two of the charges - murder and leaving the scene - thrown out. They claim some jurors have come forward saying they reached unanimous verdicts of not guilty on those two charges during their deliberations.
Prosecutors called Read's attempt to get the two charges dismissed "sensational" and that it lacks merit.
Karen Read juror speaks
WBZ-TV spoke to a juror Monday who confirmed the jury was unanimous on the murder and leaving the scene charges for acquittal and that they were hung on the lesser included charges under manslaughter.
The juror said the final vote on that charge was nine guilty to three not guilty.
The jury considered being more specific in their notes to Judge Cannone but they were not clear in how they were supposed to communicate their unanimous decision on the two charges.
Read's attorney on juror statements
"We are happy with the jurors that have come forward out of good conscience," Read's attorney David Yannetti said outside court Monday. "I think it speaks volumes that nobody has come forward to contradict what they've said which was she received two not guilty verdicts and they just weren't reported. So, we're looking forward to litigating this motion."
One legal expert said the defense team faces an uphill battle, and changing the outcome of a jury trial would be unprecedented.
"If I'm a betting man, I'm telling you they are not going to get anywhere with this," said Suffolk Law professor Christopher Dearborn.
Dearborn said the jury could have rendered a verdict on two charges. "Absolutely," Dearborn said. "If we could go back in time with a time machine, it feels like that would be justice right. But sometimes, what feels like justice and things like closure and integrity and the sanctity of proceedings clash and that seems to be happening right here."
Protesters return to courthouse
There was tension outside the courthouse in Dedham on Monday as dueling protests took over the sidewalk. The court-ordered buffer zone that was in place for Karen Read's trial has expired.
Protesters who believe Karen Read is guilty in the death of John O'Keefe took over one side, and the "Free Karen Read" movement took over the other.
Both groups drew the attention of John O'Keefe's mother, who signaled thumbs up to some protesters and thumbs down to others.
Karen Read hearing
So what will happen when both sides return to court Aug. 9 to argue about the motion to dismiss?
"The defense is going to be able to argue their motion first because they're the moving party. So the defense is going to argue, we have five jurors come forward, have said they had a unanimous verdict on two of the charges. We want to have you poll the jury and confirm that that's in fact, the case, and if it is the case, then enter a not guilty finding on the murder and the leaving the scene," legal analyst Jennifer Roman told WBZ-TV.
"The prosecution is also going to have the opportunity to argue to say, no, they weren't unanimous, there's no need to poll this jury. This is just another... outrageous attempt by the defense to try to knock out these charges and there's nothing supporting their request."
Karen Read jury may return
Roman believes all 12 jurors will have to return to court at least one more time after the Aug. 9 hearing.
"I think the judge almost has to pull the jury back and poll them, because it creates an issue for the defendant known as a double jeopardy issue, which means she can't be tried twice for the same charges stemming from the same set of facts. And that's what the defense is hanging their hat on," she told WBZ.
Suffolk Law professor Christopher Dearborn disagreed.
"There's really strict and strong prohibition against speaking with jurors about their deliberative process in Massachusetts," he said. "I think there is a real strong presumption here that the book is closed. We don't want to go back through and see what the jury was deliberating about."
"If the judge does decide to poll the jury and the jury does say, yes, we were unanimous on those two charges, then Karen Read, in a sense, gets a victory, right. The most serious charge is knocked out, the other charge - leaving the scene - is knocked out. So now she's left with a negligence claim, basically, of a manslaughter," Roman said.
Karen Read second trial
Once the judge decides on the charges, the prosecution will have to decide if they will go forward with a second trial.
"It looks like we will be going through this whole thing over again, because we have to remember that even if just the manslaughter charge survives, you still have the same facts, the same evidence that needs to come in because the prosecution still needs to explain through witnesses what they think happened and what their theory of the case is and ultimately prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she was under the influence of alcohol, acted in a negligent manner, which resulted in his death," Roman said.
"That means all those state witnesses, all that same testimony is going to need to come forth again. So, we could be looking at another nine-week trial, even though it's not a murder case any more."
Karen Read attorneys
A second trial will cost the prosecution and Read more money. Is it something that she can afford?
"The question of whether or not she can afford it is probably the bigger question. We know she's listed her house for sale, which presumably is to help pay for legal fees, if she hasn't been living there and she can't afford the maintenance and the upkeep anymore, why not sell it and take that cash to pay attorneys? But, she could certainly keep the same attorneys. I would imagine she will keep the same attorneys, they did a very good job for her all throughout this case and I don't see any reason why she would want to change them," Roman said.