Karen Read trial buffer zone for protesters does not violate First Amendment, federal judge says
A federal judge has ruled against "Free Karen Read" supporters who wanted to be able to protest closer to the courthouse ahead of her second trial in Massachusetts.
The group of protesters sued Judge Beverly Cannone and the State Police in federal court earlier this month, arguing that a court-ordered buffer zone violates their First Amendment free speech rights.
Federal judge sides with court
The buffer zone currently keeps protesters more than a block from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, where Read's retrial will get underway after jury selection wraps up this week. Cannone said the buffer zone is necessary to ensure that Read is entitled to a fair trial. Jurors from her first trial also revealed that they could hear the protesters outside the courthouse during the trial.
A federal judge sided with the court, meaning protesters will have to stay hundreds of feet from the courthouse. In the ruling, the judge said the buffer zone is "content neutral, narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and leaves open ample channels for communication."
Who is Karen Read?
Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, with her SUV outside the home of his fellow police officer in Canton back in January 2022 and leaving him to die in the snow, where his body was found hours later. Read's attorneys claim she is the victim of an elaborate coverup and that O'Keefe may have been killed inside the home during a fight and his body later dumped in the snow outside.
Read's first trial ended in a hung jury and her retrial is set to start once jury selection ends.
