Read’s lawyers are appealing to the state’s highest court in their effort to drop charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
is appealing to the state’s highest court in her bid to drop two of the three criminal charges she’s facing in the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
Lawyers for the Mansfield woman filed a 37-page petition with the Supreme Judicial Court Wednesday, reiterating their argument that state and federal double jeopardy rules prohibit prosecutors from retrying Read on charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The defense attorneys also allege they had no opportunity to weigh in before the case ended in a hung jury and Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1.
Read’s lawyers are now appealing Cannone’s recent refusal to dismiss the two disputed charges, and they’re seeking oral arguments before the SJC.
As it stands, Read will face retrial on Jan. 27 on charges “that a jury of her peers has already unanimously agreed the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt following trial,” the defense wrote.