Beverly Cannone will be the judge for the second Karen Read trial after declaring a mistrial

BOSTON — The Norfolk County judge who declared a mistrial in the first Karen Read trial will return to the bench for the highly anticipated second trial, according to the state’s Trial Court.

Superior Court Justice Beverly Cannone has become a household name throughout the region amid the constantly talked-about murder trial.

Cannone will again be seen on TV and all over the internet for the second Read trial.

“Judge Cannone will continue to serve in Norfolk County in 2025 and will preside over the Commonwealth v. Karen Read case in January,” Trial Court spokesperson Jennifer Donahue said in a statement.

Read is accused of striking her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her car and leaving him to die in a blizzard in Canton.

The 44-year-old Mansfield woman was charged in Norfolk Superior Court with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.

Read was tried earlier this year, but Cannone declared a mistrial after the jury said it was deadlocked.

Read’s attorneys have since claimed that multiple jurors said they were only hung on the manslaughter charge and were ready to acquit on the others. Motions to drop the other two charges for the new trial were denied by Cannone, but the defense has appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

The ACLU is backing Read’s appeal to the SJC, arguing that Cannone made a “hasty mistrial declaration.”

“The court did so without polling jurors to confirm they were deadlocked on all counts (or even asking the parties whether they consented to a mistrial or wanted the jurors polled),” the ACLU brief states.

Meanwhile, the second trial is set to start next year, with Cannone again running the show.

The Norfolk County judge has been a Superior Court regional administrative justice for the county, but her term is coming to an end.

“In Superior Court, regional administrative justices and other leaders serve in their leadership roles for three years, after which they rotate out of them, barring exceptional circumstances,” the Trial Court spokesperson said.

“For that reason, several administrative justices and other leaders will in 2025 rotate out of those roles, including Judge Cannone from her role as Regional Administrative Justice in Norfolk County,” the spokesperson added.

While continuing to serve as a judge in Norfolk County, Cannone will also become the chair of the Superior Court’s Criminal Committee.

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