Judge extends buffer zone outside Dedham courthouse for retrial of Karen Read

DEDHAM, Mass. — The judge in the Karen Read case extended the buffer zone outside Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court ahead of the Mansfield woman’s second murder trial.

[ Karen Read’s lawyers want her to wear headphones in court. Here’s why ]

Judge Beverly Cannone ordered that the 200-foot buffer zone remain in effect for Read’s second trial and be extended to include the area bounded by Bates Court, Bullard Street, Ames Street, and Court Street.

“No individual may demonstrate in any manner, including carrying signs or placards, within 200 feet of the courthouse complex during trial of this case, unless otherwise ordered by this court,” Cannone wrote in her ruling.

The buffer zone was put in place at the start of Read’s first trial in April 2024 to keep demonstrators a distance from the courthouse.

When jury selection begins in the second trial on Tuesday, April 1, Cannone said the demonstrators will also be “prohibited from using audio enhancing devices while protesting.”

“The case continues to garner significant public interest. When the matter is in court, individuals line the sidewalks outside the courthouse, loudly chanting and voicing their opinions about witnesses, attorneys, and the strength of the Commonwealth’s case,” Cannone wrote in her ruling. “If prospective jurors are exposed to the protestors and messages displayed on signs or otherwise, particularly before this Court has had an opportunity to instruct the jurors about their obligations with regard to remaining fair and unbiased, there is a substantial risk that the defendant’s right to a fair trial will be jeopardized.”

Buffer zone outside Dedham courthouse for Karen Read retrial

Cannone added, “The risk extends during trial where jurors and witnesses would have no choice but to be exposed daily to the messages and viewpoints of the protestors when entering and leaving the courthouse or sitting in the courtroom or jury room.”

Read, 45, is accused of hitting John O’Keefe, her Boston police officer, with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking.

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.

She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.