Karen Read’s Mistrial: Now What?

Judge Beverly Cannone reviews a verdict form that jurors must fill out when they reach a verdict in the murder trial of Karen Read, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. The defense requested some modifications. Read is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

In Karen Read’s case, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial Monday, and the district attorney’s office immediately announced its intention to retry the case.

“A mistrial is the same outcome as a verdict of guilt or innocence when the jury finds that we can’t agree on,” retired Supreme Court Justice Jack Lu told the Herald. “You have to look at the long term of what’s going on here.”

Cannone scheduled a status hearing for the new trial for July 22 at 2 p.m. in Norfolk Superior Court.

The case will proceed as if the new trial were the first, but “faster because they’ve already been through the ordeal,” Lu said. From that point on, many variables come into play, some more likely than others.

Fees

Lu said the current charges would remain in place in the new trial.

The charges are second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The second charge includes two “lesser charge” options: involuntary manslaughter and manslaughter in a passion.

Change of place

“The claim for a change of venue is very, very weak,” Lu said, and “very unlikely.”

Guilty plea agreement

There is no public record of any discussion of a guilty plea. Both sides were in court to win.

When

Cannone has scheduled a conference for July 22. As for a trial date, Lu said, “the earliest it could be November or March, or later.” A new trial is unlikely to happen before those dates, as there are many other cases on the horizon.

“There are a ton of cases like this,” Lu said. “Why should this case push all the others aside?”

What the law says

The outcome of the trial is governed by Rule 27 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure.

“The verdict must be unanimous. It will be the overall verdict returned by the jury to the judge in open court. The jury will file a verdict form with the clerk upon receipt of the verdict,” the rule states.

If a unanimous verdict cannot be reached, the rule states that “The judge may declare a mistrial on the charges on which the jury cannot agree; provided, however, that the judge may first require the jury to return verdicts on the charges on which the jury can agree, and then order such verdicts to be accepted and recorded.”

The defense attorney’s view

“I would be happy to accept a mistrial,” defense attorney William Kickham told the Herald on Monday. “Because it is not a guilty verdict.”

“In my opinion, although they have the right to try again, they should give it enough attention,” he added.

He said he reached that conclusion because the book’s “salacious, graphic, and cryptic details and allegations” made it a media sensation and “the case received an extraordinary amount of publicity both in Massachusetts and beyond.”

“That alone would make selecting a jury that has never heard of this case and can testify to its complete impartiality difficult at best,” he said. He added that “the testimony and evidence in this case revealed extremely unflattering and questionable police practices, and I doubt the prosecution would want to rehash that.”