Karen Read, a murder suspect from Massachusetts, has her lawyers seeking Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to pause her trial. They want to wait until the Supreme Court reviews the decision of a lower court to not dismiss two of the three charges against her.
After a hung jury in her first trial, where she faced charges of murder and fleeing the scene, Read is now in the midst of a retrial. Her petition for a writ of certiorari was filed this week following the appellate court’s rejection of dropping the aforementioned charges.
The retrial has commenced, reaching the selection of 12 jurors by Tuesday’s end, as confirmed by a court spokesperson to Fox News Digital. An additional four jurors are still needed to serve as alternates before the trial can begin with opening statements.
The petition went to Jackson because she is the justice responsible for the U.S. District of Massachusetts, and she can decide on it herself or refer the matter to the entire Supreme Court.
The Waterfall Bar and Grille in Canton, Mass., shown here on March 29, 2025, was where Karen Read, John O’Keefe and friends spent a night out before O’Keefe’s death in January 2022. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
Experts also see the murder charge in a hit-and-run case as a scare tactic designed to pressure the defense into accepting a plea deal. After going to trial once, Read has shown she’s ready to fight the charges in court, and she has always maintained her innocence.
“I would’ve thought that [special prosecutor Hank] Brennan would’ve gone in at the beginning and said, ‘I’m not going to do the murder charge,'” said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case.
Read faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder at her second trial, which began last week.
