Karen Read trial jury selection begins with 2 jurors seated
Karen Read's second trial got underway in a Dedham, Massachusetts courtroom on Tuesday with jury selection, a process that is expected to take weeks. Read is accused of hitting and killing John O'Keefe with her SUV after a night of heavy drinking and leaving him to die in the snow outside a Canton home in January 2022.
During the initial round of questioning, the majority of potential jurors said they have heard of Read's case. On the first day of jury selection, 62 potential jurors were questioned by lawyers and Judge Beverly Cannone.
Two jurors were seated for trial - one man and one woman. The goal is to seat 16 people for the jury.
Read was dating O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, at the time of his death. Her defense argues that O'Keefe was not hit by a vehicle. Instead, they say that three men could have killed O'Keefe during a fight inside the home where his body was found, then dragged him outside.
Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Her first trial ended last year with a mistrial due to a hung jury. The retrial is taking place in Norfolk Superior Court.
"I feel like it's Groundhog Day," Read said walking into court.
Outside the courthouse was quieter than it was for her first trial, because Read's supporters are being kept back hundreds of feet, beyond a now extended designated buffer zone.
"I'm very unhappy with being pushed back," said Dina Warchal, a Karen Read supporter from Waltham. "I feel like our First Amendment rights have been trampled upon."
Karen Read trial
Cameras were allowed at the beginning of jury selection instructions, but had to be shut off when individual questioning began.
Judge Beverly Cannone began the process by welcoming prospective jurors into the courtroom and giving a series of instructions.
"I want to welcome you here today and give you some Idea of what you will be asked to do. Jury service, as you know, is one of the most important duties we have as citizens," Cannone told potential jurors. "We appreciate that you're here, ready and willing and able to serve if you're called upon to do so. And our system of justice simply does not work without you. So we thank you. This is the case of Commonwealth vs. Karen Read."
Attorneys then introduced themselves to the jury pool before Cannone read the witness list to everyone in the room.
"It's important that we know if you know these folks," Cannone said.
Cannone said the trial is expected to last 6 to 8 weeks once it begins.
Alternate juror joins defense team
Helping the defense with jury selection is Victoria George, an alternate juror from Read's first trial. She joined Read's defense team as a lawyer. George didn't question jurors directly but reviewed jury questionnaires and worked closely with Karen Read.
"Amazing, amazing," Read said about George. "She knows what it feels like to be in the jury pool and how our evidence landed and she's an attorney, so I just feel so, so fortunate."
Karen Read jury selection
During the beginning stage of jury selection, Cannone polled the candidates.
Of the 91 people in the courtroom, 78 had seen, heard of, or talked about Read's case. In addition, 40 people said they had already formed an opinion and 16 said they had bias for one side or the other.
One person was released after speaking to the judge before the process got underway.
"The likelihood of finding a large swath of people in Norfolk County that have not heard of the Karen Read case is just unrealistic," said WBZ Legal Analyst Katherine Loftus. "So really, they have to go to the next inquiry, which is, despite having heard of it, can you still sit on this jury?"
How does jury selection work?
For the first week of jury selection alone, the Office of the Jury Commissioner has called more than 1,000 people for duty.
On Tuesday, 91 potential jurors reported to Norfolk Superior Court. Each will take about 90 minutes to fill out their forms and have lawyers process them. Jurors are questioned individually, then either added to the jury or sent home.
Judge Cannone sent about 30 or so jurors home for the day and will call them back on Wednesday. That way, when the next round of jurors is filling out its questionnaires, the court can maximize time by privately interviewing the jurors from the day before.
During a pretrial hearing, Cannone said "I think it's going to take a very long time to find a jury," also adding, "Many, if not most, if not all jurors have heard about this case."
Jury selection for Read's first trial took five days over the course of more than one week.
How to watch Karen Read trial
You can watch the Karen Read trial streaming live on CBS News Boston from the start of the trial right through the verdict.
For a full timeline of the Karen Read case, click here.
