BOSTON — A single judge on Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled that Karen Read’s Call The question of whether two charges should be dismissed will be heard by the full panel before a decision is made.
Karen Read’s Decision
“I hereby reserve and return this matter, without decision, for determination by the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth,” Justice Elizabeth Dewar wrote in her decision released Thursday evening.
Judge Dewar had the power to dismiss the appeal in its entirety or to refer it to the full Massachusetts Supreme Court. She chose the latter option, meaning the full panel will hear arguments from both sides on why two charges Read faces should or should not be dismissed. told WBZ-TV Read’s lawyers’ argument is a novel issue and would require the Supreme Court to craft a new state law.
No date has yet been set for Read’s case to be heard by the full jury, but the process could take weeks or months and delay his second trial, which is currently scheduled to begin. January 27, 2025Read’s team is due to file a brief as the next step in the case by next Wednesday, September 25.
Karen Read’s Call
Read’s lawyers had appealed an August decision by Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone, who rejected Read’s motion to drop two charges against her following her first trial.
Read argued that jurors voted in camera to acquit him of second-degree murder and fleeing the scene charges, based on information His lawyers learned this from conversations with a handful of jurors after his first trial.
However, the jury never formally acquitted Read and only told the court that it was hopelessly deadlocked, leading to a null trial July 1. As a result, Judge Cannone denied the motion to dismiss both charges, and Read’s attorneys appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.
Who is Karen Read?
Karen Read is a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV after a night of drinking. January 2022Prosecutors say it was an intentional killing, but Read’s lawyers say she was framed by police and witnesses and is an innocent woman.
His second trial will be conducted by a special prosecutor brought in earlier this year by the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office to handle the case.
Kristina Rex
