Buffer zone for Karen Read trial to remain in place after federal judge denies suit (2025)

An extended buffer zone surrounding the Dedham courthouse where Karen Read’s second trial is taking place will remain after a federal judge denied a lawsuit seeking to eliminate it on free speech grounds.

In the lead-up to Read’s second trial, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone issued an order expanding the buffer zone around the courthouse at the request of prosecutors. Cannone ordered the buffer zone to prevent demonstrators outside the court from influencing the trial.

In the wake of the order, a group of four supporters filed suit in federal court in Boston, claiming the buffer zone quashes their right to free speech. The supporters also claimed they were not given an opportunity by Cannone to be heard in opposition to the order.

But U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun denied the suit, finding Cannone’s extension of the zone, “directly advanced the goal of ensuring a fair trial.”

“Significantly, Plaintiffs may still engage in the same forms of protest outside the buffer zone,” she wrote.

Joun also found Cannone did not deny the supporters an opportunity to be heard, noting she considered a letter submitted by a group of local businesses before issuing the order.

“There is nothing in the record to indicate that the trial judge restricted the plaintiffs from voicing their opinions prior to the issuance of the second order,” Joun wrote.

A similar zone was in place for the first Read trial, which also weathered a legal challenge. The Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts’ highest court, upheld Cannone’s order last spring.

The zone was expanded to the west for the second trial, after an anonymous juror reported hearing honking in support of Read, spurred by supporters gathered outside during deliberations.

Attorney Marc Randazza indicated in a court filing that Joun’s decision will be appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, jury selection for Read’s trial continues Monday, with 16 jurors already in place. Court officials are seeking 18 jurors for the case, with 12 serving as deliberating jurors at the close of the six-to-eight-week trial.

Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.

Prosecutors say Read intentionally backed her SUV into O’Keefe in a drunken rage amid turmoil in their relationship, then left him to die in the snow outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer. But Read’s defense has claimed O’Keefe was beaten up inside the house, and his body was planted outside to frame Read.