Judge denies Karen Read's motion to dismiss 2 charges

The judge overseeing the Karen Read case has denied her motion to dismiss two of the charges against her.

Judge Beverly Cannone issued the ruling Friday.

“After careful consideration, this Court concludes that because the defendant was not acquitted of any charges and defense counsel consented to the Court’s declaration of a mistrial, double jeopardy is not implicated by retrial of the defendant,” Cannone wrote in her ruling. “The motion is therefore DENIED.”

You can read the full 21-page decision below:

Read’s defense had said in moving to dismiss the pair of charges, including second-degree murder and leaving the scene of personal injury, that five jurors have come forward — three directly to them — and confirmed the jury was only unable to agree on the manslaughter charge.

The defense argued that retrial on those two charges would violate double jeopardy protections because the jury had unanimously agreed to acquit Read on those charges.

Read’s next murder trial is set to begin in January.

The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the Read case, released a statement Friday morning in response to Cannone’s ruling.

“We believe that the judge’s decision is consistent with almost 200 years of case law,” the statement said. “We are moving forward to trying this case January 27.”