CANTON, Mass. — Prosecutors have proposed an alternative solution to a Norfolk Superior Court judge after Karen Read’s lawyers wanted to change the courtroom layout in a filing last week.
David Yannetti and Alan Jackson, the defense, asked Judge Beverly Cannone to move the location of the jury box, arguing that some of the jurors wouldn’t be able to see the faces of witnesses when testimony begins in Read’s murder trial, according to court documents.
In their written response, the prosecution says the courtroom has been set up this way for “over a hundred years,” and is also the largest courtroom in Norfolk County.
Read’s lawyers initially wanted to move the jurors’ chairs to the other end of the jury box, but prosecutors say this solution was posed when the box contained only 12 seats, whereas 19 jurors will be seated for the trial.
“Given the defendant’s objection, the Commonwealth offers another alternative, that the trial be conducted in courtroom 25 of Norfolk Superior Court,” the response read.
Although acknowledging the proposed courtroom is smaller than the current one, Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally and Laura McLaughlin wrote in the filing that Attorney Yannetti previously conducted a trial in that courtroom and “had ample opportunity to observe the positioning of the box vis-a-vis the witness stand, as well as positioning of the witness stand vis-a-vis the defendant.”
Judge Cannone has yet to make a ruling on the motion.
On Friday, the defense requested the jury box moved arguing that some jurors will not be able to see witnesses face to face.
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) April 22, 2024
-In their written response, the prosecution says the courtroom has been set up this way for "over one hundred years".
-Prosecution has proposed an… pic.twitter.com/g2vyPIBXou
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Monday is day four of jury selection for the Karen Read murder trial. She is accused of killing her Boston Police Officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, during a snowstorm in Canton in 2022.
She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision in connection with O’Keefe’s death.
Read’s defense has argued that she is being framed and that O’Keefe was beaten and attacked by a dog inside the home of another Boston police officer.
The Commonwealth’s full written response can be viewed below:
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