Karen Read judge says defense made "repeated misrepresentations" to court
The judge in the Karen Read case admonished the defense team on Tuesday for "repeated misrepresentations" to the court, but did not remove any lawyers with less than a month to go before her second trial is supposed to start.
Legal experts said Read attorney Alan Jackson was on the hot seat after Judge Beverly Cannone suddenly suspended a February hearing amid allegations by the prosecution that defense attorneys were not being truthful about their relationship with expert crash reconstruction witnesses.
"I find that there have been repeated misrepresentations made to the court by defense counsel, and I conclude that they were deliberate concerning the relationship with the ARCCA witnesses," Cannone said Tuesday.
Cannone then talked to Read and her legal team privately. The judge said she would not revoke any out-of-state lawyer's right to practice in Massachusetts, but issued a stern warning to attorneys about candor to the court.
WBZ-TV's Kristina Rex asked Read outside court how she felt about her attorneys staying on the case. "Amazing. Amazing," Read said. "There's no other attorneys I'd rather have than my attorneys."
Prosecutors accuse Read of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside of a Canton home in 2022. Read claims she is being framed as part of a coverup involving several people including law enforcement.
ARCCA witnesses allowed to testify
The ARCCA witnesses are Daniel Wolfe and Andrew Rentschler. They were hired as part of a now-closed federal investigation into the case and testified in the first trial that O'Keefe's injuries were not consistent with being hit by a car.
The prosecution moved to exclude Wolfe and Rentschler for the second trial. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan said the court obtained a bill from ARCCA to the defense for nearly $24,000. He also said there are emails between Read's team and the experts, with Wolfe writing in one email, "If you don't want me to say this, that's fine."
Cannone ruled that the ARCCA witnesses will be allowed to testify in the second trial.
Turtleboy debate
Another contentious moment in Tuesday's hearing was all about Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy who launched the "Free Karen Read" movement, and whether any mention of his alleged witness intimidation will be allowed at trial.
"There are clearly people out there who are very deeply concerned about what they consider, the others consider, an unjust prosecution of an innocent person, for a crime that she did not commit," Alan Jackson said. "And we don't control that."
"The prosecutors weren't outside patting the bloggers on the butt for a job well done," Brennan said.
The judge did not make a decision yet on the issue, but she did stress her concern about how the publicity in this case is going to make it hard to find a jury.
Karen Read hearing
Read's first trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. The retrial is currently scheduled to begin on April 1 with jury selection.
Tuesday's hearing included arguments on several remaining motions. Judge Cannone will be determining what evidence will be allowed or excluded from trial.
WBZ-TV's Kristina Rex described the hearing as "setting the ground rules" for the upcoming second trial. Debating and deciding the remaining motions is among the final steps before the trial can begin.
Among the issues discussed Tuesday morning were a motion by the defense to exclude testimony by a neurosurgeon about O'Keefe's manner of death and whether Read will be able to attend a jury viewing of 34 Fairview Road.
The prosecution also said Tuesday that unlike the first trial, it does not plan to introduce evidence on the Aruba trip in which Read allegedly accused O'Keefe of kissing another woman a month before his death.
Delay the Karen Read trial?
Before court ended for the day, the defense formally asked the judge to delay the start of the April 1 trial. Attorney Jackson said the trial should be delayed while the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals considers Read's push to dismiss two charges against her, which he said could send the trial "into upheaval."
Prosecutors are strongly opposed to moving the trial date. Cannone said the jury process would take "months" to complete if the trial date was moved, but said she would hear more arguments later in the week.
As far as how long the trial could take, Brennan said the prosecution's case would take 24 days, while the defense estimated less than two weeks.
Karen Read federal investigation
A federal investigation into how law enforcement handled the case was launched by the U.S. Attorney's for Massachusetts, but special prosecutor Brennan said in court earlier this month that the investigation has since ended.
Prosecutors in a new court filing pushed back against defense efforts to talk about the now-closed investigation into the case.
In the motion, the state said it has a "good-faith belief" that the defense instigated the investigation, saying it "actively participated in providing selective information and materials to the U.S. Attorney's office."
What has happened in the Karen Read case?
Cannone recently imposed a gag order in the case, applying to all attorneys. Brennan had asked the judge to impose sanctions on defense attorneys after they shared text messages in public court filings that were subject to a protective order. David Yannetti, one of Read's attorneys, called the move an honest mistake. Cannone did not issue sanctions, but did approve the gag order request.
Last week, a federal judge denied Read's request to drop two charges against her. The habeas corpus petition stemmed from Read's Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appeal on grounds of double jeopardy. Read's attorneys had argued that jurors were unanimous on the charges of leaving the scene of personal injury and murder, but Cannone still declared a mistrial.
Also last week, a Massachusetts State Police trial board hearing also concluded for Trooper Michael Proctor, who was the lead investigator in Read's case. No determination has been announced yet about what discipline he could face.
Who is Karen Read?
Read is a 45-year-old financial analyst who was living in Mansfield at the time of O'Keefe's death.
In addition to murder and leaving the scene of person injury, Read is also charged with manslaughter under the influence of alcohol.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
