Just one week before her retrial is set to start, a judge denied a motion filed by Karen Read’s lawyers to dismiss the case entirely on the basis of “extraordinary government misconduct.”
In a lengthy decision released on Tuesday, Judge Beverly Cannone wrote, “Such a drastic sanction is justified only in response to the most egregious and truly harmful conduct...because the claimed violations here do not rise to a level that would justify the most draconian sanction of dismissal, and because the defendant’s constitutional rights can be fully protected in the coming trial, her motion to dismiss is denied.”
The denial paves the way for jury selection to get underway on April 1.
In a separate filing on Tuesday, Read’s lawyers requested that Michael Easter be allowed to testify in the retrial. Easter is a retired and decorated agent with the FBI, and the defense wants him to testify about standard investigative practices and procedures by law enforcement, according to the court filing.
Judge Cannone has not yet ruled on that motion.
The decision and motion can be read in full here:
Judge denies motion by Karen Read’s lawyers to dismiss case a week away from her retrial by Boston 25 Desk on Scribd
Read is charged with second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a crash, and manslaughter for allegedly causing the death of her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, on January 29, 2022.
The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton and then dragged outside and left for dead.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial in July 2024 after finding jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on all three charges. Earlier this month, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts denied Read’s bid to dismiss her charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash for double jeopardy reasons.
Read’s attorneys had argued that their client’s double jeopardy protections were violated because several jurors who came forward after the mistrial indicated that Read was found not guilty of the two charges in question. Cannone later rejected a motion to dismiss the charges, prompting the SJC appeal.
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