Karen Read murder trial Judge Beverly Cannone issued a warning today that is a final spur to action for the jury to reach a consensus in the case. Should the jury report it remains deadlocked, Cannone may have to declare a mistrial.

“The law is complicated, but if they come back saying ‘we’re hung again’ without asking any additional legal questions, then the judge may be required to call a mistrial,” retired Superior Court Judge Jack Lu told the Herald Monday morning.

“A mistrial is a result just like a guilty or not guilty, the jury saying we cannot agree,” the 16-year Massachusetts Superior Court judge added. “You have to take the long-view of what is going on here.”

Lu said that the immediate effect of declaring a mistrial would be for Cannone to set a status conference date and possibly even a new trial date. The case would move along as though the new trial were the first, but “quicker, because they already had a run-through.”

From that point, Lu said, there are a number of variables in play, some more likely than others.

Charges

The current indicted charges would remain in the new trial, Lu said.

Those are second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The second of the indicted charges features two “lesser included charge” options: involuntary manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide.

Change of venue

“A change of venue claim is very, very weak,” Lu said, and “highly unlikely.”

Plea bargains

There is no public information pointing toward any plea discussions. Both sides were in court to win.

When

Cannone is likely to set a status date for September or October — or even as late as December — Lu said, with a trial date to follow. He said “the earliest could be November or March, or beyond.” A new trial is unlikely to take place before those dates because there are a number of other cases on the horizon.

“There’s a whole smorgasbord of those cases,” Lu said. “Why should this case shove aside all the other cases?”

What the law says

The outcome of a trial is governed by Rule 27 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure.

“The verdict shall be unanimous. It shall be a general verdict returned by the jury to the judge in open court. The jury shall file a verdict slip with the clerk upon the return of the verdict,” the rule states.

If a unanimous verdict cannot be reached, the rule states, “The judge may declare a mistrial as to any charges upon which the jury cannot agree upon a verdict; provided, however, that the judge may first require the jury to return verdicts on those charges upon which the jury can agree and direct that such verdicts be received and recorded.”

A defense attorney’s view

“I would welcome a declaration of a mistrial,” attorney William Kickham told the Herald Monday. “Because it’s not a guilty finding and I believe that the likelihood of this case being retried by the DA’s office is low.”

“Certainly the DA’s office has the right to retry, and I’m not saying they definitely won’t, but my sense is that they likely won’t,” he added.

He came to this conclusion, he said, because the “prurient, lurid, and mysterious details and allegations” contained in it have made it a media sensation that “has been an extraordinarily covered case both inside and outside Massachusetts.”

“That alone would make selecting a jury that has never heard of this case, and can attest to complete impartiality, difficult at best,” he said. He added that the “testimony and evidence in this case revealed extremely unflattering and questionable police practices, and I doubt the prosecution would want to rehash this.”

This is a developing story.

Dedham, MA 7/1/24 Karen Read looks toward the jurors, as they are greeted by Judge Beverly J. Cannone in Norfolk Superior Court. This is their fifth day of deliberations in the murder trial for Read. Read is accused of backing her SUV into her Boston Police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton, in 2022. ( Pat Greenhouse/pool photo)