DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - The first circuit court of appeals sided with a federal judge, who earlier this month, refused to dismiss two of Karen Read’s charges.
Read’s lawyers argue that trying her again for murder and leaving the scene of a deadly crash would amount to double jeopardy.
Read’s repeated efforts to drop the charges on the grounds of acquittal have failed to convince a single judge.
The first circuit wrote that post-trial statements do not equal a verdict read in open court, saying, “Therefore, even if we assume that the jury unanimously voted in private that the prosecution had failed to prove its case on counts one and three, the jury did not ‘act on that view.'”
In light of Thursday’s decision, jury selection for Read’s retrial begins Tuesday, which could take days or even weeks.
7NEWS legal analyst Tom Hoopes says both special prosecutor Hank Brennan and Read’s defense team, including Alan Jackson, will likely use focus groups to narrow down the type of juror they would like considering Read’s fate.
“Lawyers always think they are so smart, but they’re dumb in terms of the average person things,” said Hoopes. “And so you need to be talking to people who aren’t lawyers.”
Read faces a retrial in connection with the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe.
Her team now has a new lawyer helping with jury selection, Victoria George, who was an alternate juror in last year’s trial.
Hoopes says this is a defense team willing to take risks, and he can’t be sure this move will help much.
“It’s a hard one to quantify,” said Hoopes. “I’m just not 100% sure it’s worth the risk.”
There could be 150-200 people in the jury pool each day.
The judge says some people, who are toward the bottom of the list, might be allowed to go home early and come back the next day if Judge Beverly Cannone believes they won’t have time to be questioned at sidebar.
Hoopes says he’s not surprised Cannone floated the idea.
“In the end, it’s the public that she’s serving as well,” said Hoopes. “She’s trying to keep the jury as inconvenienced as she can.”
The judge is also considering Karen Read’s request to get an ear piece so she can hear each juror being questioned at sidebar.
She isn’t certain that can be accommodated, due to technology issues in the older courthouse.
“Five years from now, it will be automatic,” said Hoopes. “Right now, she’ll do it if she can, if they can make it happen.”
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