Judge hears motion to dismiss 2 charges in Karen Read case

Karen Read was back in court Friday.

Her attorneys are trying to get two of her charges dismissed: second degree murder and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.

Multiple jurors who were on the case now allegedly claim during deliberations the entire jury agreed Read was not guilty of either.

Attorney Martin Weinberg led the defense argument to Judge Beverly Cannone, arguing that new information from jurors that came forward after a mistrial was declared in the case should inform the court's action going forward.

"The real issue here is legally what do we do when we now know that jurors are declaring to the court that they believed they reached a verdict of not guilty," Weinberg said.

Weinberg asked that the lawyers be authorized to reach out to other jurors for affidavits and suggested the judge could schedule a hearing with jurors who came forward.

I’m at the courthouse in Dedham.
Judge Cannone will hear the motion to dismiss 2 charges in Karen Read case: Watch live at 2 p.m. in the NBC10boston web & app.
I’ll be inside the courtroom, follow along here.#karenread #johnokeefe pic.twitter.com/0ySYN0RLIi

— Sue O'Connell: COMMENTATOR not a reporter (@SueNBCBoston) August 9, 2024

He liked the situation to one of double jeopardy - the legal rule that prohibits a person from being prosecuted twice for the same crime.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally pushed back, arguing that there was no verdict returned by the jury and that asking jurors for more details on the deliberation process would be an infringement of the existing system and against the rules.

He pointed out that there was no communication from the jury about the vote to the court, despite clear instructions tot he jury. He also pointed out that the defense did not object to the mistrial despite being given the opportunity.

Both attorneys attempted to bring previous case precedent into their arguments to address how to handle the unique situation.

Read is also facing a third charge — manslaughter while driving under the influence. At this time, it's unclear if the jury had an answer to that charge.

The hearing comes as NBC10 Boston learned of the effects Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor had on this case. He was the lead investigator in the case.

New documents obtained exclusively by NBC10 Boston show the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Read, sent a Brady letter earlier this month to 13 criminal defense attorneys in four cases.

The letter states that Proctor, who was involved in each investigation, has been subject to cross-examination regarding issues like conflict of interest and bias. It notes that he's under investigation and suspended without pay.

"Proctor didn't do all the work in this case. There were all a whole bunch of other people in the Read case who did work. Imagine if he's really the Seminole key prosecutorial witness in a case. I don't know if I would be comfortable putting him up as a witness. The DA's office may have to consider dropping some cases where he is a Seminole witness," said Chris Dearborn, Suffolk University law professor.

Based on recent case law by the Supreme Judicial Court, the district attorney's office was in some ways dictated to offer up that information.

The hearing to dismiss two charges in the Read case will take place Friday afternoon.