Crime

‘This is funny, Ms. Read?’: Judge admonishes Karen Read after brief argument with defense team

Read smiled and scoffed during a tense exchange over the verdict form supplied to jurors.

Karen Read watches as the jury enters the courtroom for the start of the second day of deliberations at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP

By Abby Patkin

updated on June 26, 2024

2 minutes to read

Judge Beverly Cannone had sharp words for Karen Read Wednesday after Read smiled and scoffed during a tense exchange between her lawyers and the judge.

As jury deliberations continued Wednesday morning, defense attorney Alan Jackson took issue with the verdict form, complaining there was no box for jurors to check “not guilty” on two lesser included charges of involuntary manslaughter or motor vehicle homicide. He pointed out that he previously raised concerns with the court Tuesday.

Cannone noted that she never agreed to make the changes. “I said I’d think about it,” she said. “I said I was tired and I needed to think about it.”

Following the judge’s comment, Read turned and shared a grin with her family and friends in the courtroom gallery.

Cannone further explained that she decided against adding the “not guilty” boxes to the form because “this verdict slip, as submitted to the jury, is exactly how it always is in Massachusetts.”

“I don’t really care how it always is in Massachusetts,” Jackson, who is based in California, shot back. “I care about whether it’s appropriate.”

“It’s appropriate,” Cannone maintained. She said jurors can indicate a “not guilty” verdict for the lesser included charges by simply not checking the boxes for “guilty.”

Court resumed briefly and it got testy.
AJ tells Judge the verdict slip is incorrect.
He says there is no "not guilty" box to check on the lesser included charges of involuntarily manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide .
He tells Judge, "They need to see there is not a guilty… pic.twitter.com/GjLOmkDXKZ
— Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) June 26, 2024

Defense attorney David Yannetti, who is based in Massachusetts, said he hasn’t seen verdict slips where “not guilty” is not an option for lesser included charges.

“OK. I disagree with you,” Cannone said as Read made the scoffing noise and appeared to shake her head.

“Excuse me? This is funny, Ms. Read?” Cannone said sharply. “All right, we’re done.”

12:05 p.m. update: Cannone revisited Jackson’s complaint in another conversation around noon.

“I do appreciate the concern about the confusion this might cause the jury,” she said. “I think it’s easily clarified with a supplemental instruction.”

She read a rough draft of the language she would use to clarify how jurors should consider the lead OUI manslaughter charge and the two lesser included offenses.

In addition, Jackson proposed changing the “not guilty” box on the verdict slip to read, “Not guilty of the offense charged or any lesser included offense.”

While Cannone maintained that the form was proper as written, she agreed to Jackson’s amendment. She said the court needed to change the slip anyway, citing a missing indentation and colon.