10th day of jury selection underway in Karen Read retrial Tuesday (2025)

The 10th day of jury selection for Karen Read’s second trial got underway Tuesday morning with 16 jurors in place and at least two more needed.

In all, 54 potential jurors filled Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday morning, according to a WBZ reporter in the courtroom. Of those 54, 43 said they had read about the case before arriving for jury duty, 26 said they had expressed or formed an opinion about it and eight said they had a bias or prejudice in favor of or against one side.

Less than half, 25 of the 54, said they had a substantial scheduling hardship, such as airline tickets or a surgery, that would prevent them from serving on the jury.

The selection process for Read’s first trial took five days. With selection entering its 10th day Tuesday, it will officially have taken at least twice as long to get a jury for the second trial.

• Read more:What makes jury selection in the Karen Read trial so hard? It’s not just publicity

The goal for jury selection initially was to seat 16 jurors, but the number was hiked to 18 at some point in the process. Only 12 of the eventual 18 will deliberate the case, with the remainder serving as alternates. Deliberating jurors won’t be picked until the final day of the trial.

It’s not clear when opening statements will be delivered in the second trial, kicking it off in earnest. Read initially told reporters they were scheduled for Tuesday, but they have been delayed as the selection process drags on.

How jury selection plays out

Each morning of selection begins the same way, with Cannone reading a statement of the case, laying outwhat prosecutors say Read did: backing her SUV into her then-boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe, outside a Canton home after a night of drinking.

She tells jurors that Read is presumed innocent and has no obligation to prove her innocence during the trial.

Cannone also references the intense publicity that has consumed the Read case, saying, “public comment will likely continue,” but “the rule of law will be upheld.”

Read thanks the potential jurors after each lawyer introduces themselves.

Cannone then reads out the entire witness list, which contains 150 names, before beginning questioning. After the group questioning, jurors are left to complete athree-page questionnaire.

Only after all that are jurors questioned individually.

During individual questioning, both sides can strike a juror for any reason. Each side gets 16 strikes.

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 O’Keefe’s death.

Read’s defense claims she is being framed andothers are responsible for O’Keefe’s death.