Attleboro-area legal experts support judge's ruling in Karen Read murder case | Local News

“I think it really hits the nail on the head,” said Attleboro defense attorney James Caramanica. “I think the case law is pretty clear. There was no acquittal in open court on these two counts.”

In her 21-page statement of reasons for the verdict, Cannone cited the case law that requires a verdict to be announced in open court. The purpose of this ruling is to allow the jury to be questioned to determine any uncertainty about a unanimous decision and to record the decision in court, according to the defense.

Read's lawyers had argued that the jury actually reached a partial verdict during deliberations, finding her not guilty of first-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death. The lawyers say the jury was only deadlocked on the charge of manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and didn't know how to proceed.

Read's lawyers said it would be unfair to retry her on the two charges. They pointed to several jurors' statements after the verdict that they had acquitted Read of both crimes. Retrying her would violate the double jeopardy clause, they said.

They announced that they would appeal Cannone's verdict.

“Honestly,” Caramanica said, “the jury seemed very intelligent. When they agreed on a partial verdict, they didn't ask the court any questions about it. That's what happens during a trial.”

Roger Ferris, a longtime Attleboro criminal defense attorney and former Bristol County assistant district attorney, said the jury foreman's notes were clear and conclusive that the jury could not reach a unanimous decision on any of the charges.

Cannone quoted from the jury foreman's notes, which said the jury was “deeply divided by fundamental differences of opinion” and they knew the consequences that would follow. In the final note, Cannone wrote, the jury was at an impasse on the “counts of impeachment,” a word she had italicized in her decision.

Caramanica also said the defense twice asked the judge to give a final instruction to the deadlocked jury (known as the Tuey-Rodriguez indictment), knowing that if the jury again failed to reach a verdict, the judge would declare a mistrial.

“They had the opportunity to object,” Caramanica said.

The lawyers also said a judge is not permitted to press a jury into its deliberations if the jury indicates it cannot reach a decision or to inquire about the deliberation process after the jury has been discharged. The lawyers said a jury may be susceptible to influence after it has finished its deliberations.

“They were discharged from service,” Ferris said. “They can't be brought back.”

Ferris said there was a murder case in Massachusetts where the jury was called back for questioning after the trial, but that was only because there were allegations of racial bias and racist remarks among the jurors.

Defense attorney Michael Delsignore, who has a law firm in Attleboro, also joined Cannone and repeated the arguments made by Ferris and Caramanica.

Still, Delsignore said, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office could have reached an agreement for confidential post-trial jury questioning “in the interest of justice,” given all of the apparent verdicts during deliberations and all of the questions surrounding the actions of state police investigators involved in the case.

Read is due back in court in January. She is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death. She has pleaded not guilty. She is free on bail. Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV on January 29, 2022 after a night of drinking and leaving him to die in the snow in Canton.

Delsignore said prosecutors should also consider dropping the intentional abuse charge because he said there was reasonable doubt as to whether Read knew or intended to hit O'Keefe.

“I think she was probably overcharged,” Delsignore said.

Immediately after the case ended in a mistrial on July 1 following two months of testimony, the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office announced it would retry Read and gave no indication it would drop any of the charges. Prosecutors rejected the defense's request to drop the charges of premeditated murder and leaving the scene of a crime.

Read's trial is scheduled to resume on January 27.