One week before jury selection gets underway, the defense and prosecution sought the resolution of several issues.
Karen Read's attempt to have all charges against her dismissed in her high-profile murder case, claiming that she "has been severely prejudiced by the Commonwealth's pervasive misconduct," has been denied.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone made the ruling Tuesday, following the last pre-trial hearing in the case. She also denied the defense team's request for a hearing on the issue.
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"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," Cannone wrote.
Ruling on Read's motion to dismiss over extraordinary governmental conduct was one of the major outstanding issues that Cannone had to resolve before the retrial can begin, though others remain.
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Jury selection in Read's second murder trial is currently set to begin on April 1
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2022. Her defense alleges that she's being framed.
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Unresolved motions could make or break how this retrial will play out.
Other issues that remain unresolved include prosecutors' request to bring in more evidence from a documentary and text messages from Read's phone, saying it may help prove their case that she's guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
The case has drawn widespread attention from the media and online. The prosecution fears that may make it hard to find an impartial jury, which is why at the last hearing they asked the judge for a more elaborate jury questionnaire.
Outside of Norfolk Superior Court, Read's team is also pursuing her case in federal appeals court. They have been trying to have two of the charges dismissed against them, claiming being retried could amount to double jeopardy based on statements made by jurors after the conclusion of the first trial. So far, that argument has been rejected by a state court judge, a Supreme Judicial Court judge and a federal judge, but if the appeals court were to reverse that call, it would have significant impact on the case.
In a separate petition, the defense is also hoping a federal court will intervene to delay the start of the second trial to April 28.
