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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Karen Read now has the support of the American Civil Liberties Union in her fight to have two of the charges against her, including the murder charge, thrown out.
The ACLU filed an amicus brief Monday with the Supreme Judicial Court backing her lawyers' arguments that her second-degree murder and leaving the scene of personal injury or death charges dismissed on the grounds of double jeopardy.
Read's original trial ended in a mistrial this summer after the jury could not reach a verdict. However, her lawyers said after the trial ended, several jurors reached out to them and said the jury was only deadlocked on her manslaughter charge and had agreed to acquit her of murder and leaving the scene. They also say Judge Beverly Cannone should have polled the jury before declaring a mistrial.
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In its brief, the ACLU cites the Constitution protects a person from being tried on the same charges twice. The organization argues the trial court should conduct a hearing to find out if what the jurors told Read's lawyers is true.
A new trial date is set in the case for late January 2025. Oral arguments in the appeal before the Supreme Judicial Court hearing are set for Nov. 6. The prosecution has until the end of the day to file a response brief with the Supreme Judicial Court.
WBZ's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports.
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