Karen Read Retrial On, Double Jeopardy Argument Fails on Appeal

Karen Read, who’s accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend and fleeing the scene, failed in her bid to avoid retrial after a jury deadlocked over the charges last year.

There was no “final ‘ruling’ of acquittal that would trigger double jeopardy concerns,” and there was no apparent alternative to declaring a mistrial at the time the trial court made that decision, Judge Lara E. Montecalvo of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wrote in a Thursday opinion affirming a federal district court’s rejection of Read’s habeas petition.

Her retrial is scheduled to start April 1.

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