Karen Read's legal civil team was in court Monday, arguing a question of her Fifth Amendment rights and how her ability to defend herself could be compromised if she has to manage competing civil and criminal cases against her.
The family of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, filed a wrongful death suit against Read and the two Canton, Massachusetts, bars they visited on the night he died.
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Read's lawyers want the civil case to be put on hold until after her second criminal trial next year, a request backed by the other defendants in their own motions. In the criminal case, Read is accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm. She faces charges of second-degree murder, knowingly leaving the scene of an accident and involuntary manslaughter.
In civil court Monday, Read's team argued that her Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate should be the grounds for the stay.
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“Proceeding with the civil matter will adversely affect Ms. Read’s Fifth Amendment rights and her ability to vigorously defend herself," attorney William Keville argued.
He also noted that the court has already determined discovery in the civil case was not set to end until August 2026. With the criminal case set for a new trial in January 2025, Keville argues the stay should not significantly impact the timeline.
But attorney Marc Diller, who is representing the O'Keefe family, argued that Read has already effectively waived her Fifth Amendment rights by speaking to the media on multiple occasions, including a recent Dateline interview.
“She chooses to waive her Fifth Amendment privileges at times when it is convenient to her when she wants to control the public narrative or when she wants to self-promote herself in the media," Diller said.
He added that the burden of proof in a civil matter is different than a criminal one.
The attorney representing Waterfall Bar & Grill also requested a hold in the case, the attorney also pointing out that a short-term stay should not significantly affect the timeline of the civil case. Also, focusing not on a Fifth Amendment argument but one of logistics, the attorney argued that starting discovery now could cause issues of competing discovery between the civil and criminal cases.
"I would suggest to you, your honor, in this instance, starting the discovery of the civil case on the eve of the beginning of the criminal case is a problem for everybody involved, is a great inconvenience and would be a drain on judicial resources," attorney David Hassett argued.
Attorneys for C.F. McCarthy's reiterated that argument.
The judge did not make a final decision in court Monday but took the motion under advisement.
