Karen Read case: Defense wants federal court to delay trial start

Attorneys for Karen Read have filed a petition in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts requesting a stay of her trial in the state superior court, which is set to begin on April 1.

This comes after Judge Beverly Cannone, the Norfolk Superior Court judge, on Thursday denied a defense motion to delay the start of the case, citing concerns about scheduling the jury pool.

WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE

Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

The defense is pushing for a delay based on an ongoing appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Read is accused of hitting and killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV in front of a home in Canton in January 2022. She is charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.

Her defense team has claimed that she is the victim of a massive coverup involving law enforcement corruption and is being framed for the murder. After her first trial ended in a mistrial last July, attorneys for Read have gone before a state court judge, a Supreme Judicial Court judge and a federal judge seeking to have two of her charges thrown out. They made the request based on statements made by jurors after the conclusion of the first trial, claiming retrying her on two of the charges would amount to double jeopardy.

Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.

Karen Read retrial hearing recap, analysis | New docuseries, ‘A Body in the Snow'

In today's edition of "Canton Confidential," we break down another major hearing in the Karen Read case, with the start of the retrial less than two week away — and Judge Beverly Cannone insisting it still start on time. Here's what happened — in Read's hearing and with Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney's — what our experts thought of it and an interview with Terry Dunn Meurer, executive producer of "A Body in the Snow," the new docuseries about the Read case airing on ID.

The courts have all denied the request, so they have appealed to the First Circuit of Appeals, which has yet to rule. The attorneys in her superior court case say the outcome of the appeal will impact their overall strategy.

"Read’s trial counsel cannot realistically be expected to select a jury without knowing whether the trial will include all three counts or only Count 2," the petition reads.

The filing in federal court requests that the federal court intervene by ordering a stay until there has been time for the First Circuit court to issue a ruling on their appeal. Specifically, they want the start of the trial pushed back until April 28. They say this is because starting the trial could violate her double jeopardy rights. You can read the full filing below.

The two sides are expected to return to the superior court on Tuesday to continue arguing motions and discuss outstanding issues.