Lawyer who led Karen Read’s defense one step closer to joining team for civil suit
A lawyer representing Karen Read in the wrongful death lawsuit brought against her by the family of her late boyfriend, John O'Keefe, officially asked a judge on Friday to allow the out-of-state lawyer who led her criminal defense to join the civil team.
Attorney Damon Seligson filed three motions asking the judge to admit the lawyers from out of state — Alan Jackson, Read's lead criminal defense lawyer, and two other attorneys at his firm, Elizabeth Little and Caleb Mason. Little also represented Read at her criminal trials.
Jackson, Little and Mason are not licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, meaning a judge would need to approve their representation pro hac vice, Latin for "for this occasion only."
Such motions are typically approved, and lawyers for the O'Keefe family did not file any opposition.
The motions were expected for weeks, after Jackson announced on "The Greg Hill Show " that he would be joining the civil team along with Little.
In each, Seligson wrote, "it would be unfair to deny Read the available benefit" of the lawyer's assistance in the case.
All three lawyers have "an intricate knowledge of the relevant facts that will assist her other counsel in defending these claims," Seligson wrote.
If Judge Daniel O'Shea, who was specially assigned to the suit, approves the motions, Read will now be represented by nine lawyers in the case.
In addition to Seligson, Read is represented by two other lawyers from the firm Sheehan Phinney : Charles Waters and Aaron D. Rosenberg .
Read is also represented by three lawyers from the firm Melick & Porter : Christopher George, William L. Keville Jr. and Marissa K. Palladini.
Jackson was instrumental in pushing Read's claim that she was being framed for O'Keefe's death. Prosecutors claimed Read hit O'Keefe with her car on Jan. 29, 2022, outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston Police officer.
But Jackson and other members of Read's defense claimed she was the victim of a widespread law enforcement conspiracy that set her up.
Read, 45, was acquitted of all charges connected with the death of O'Keefe, a Boston Police officer, in June following her second trial. She was convicted solely of operating under the influence, for which she received a year of probation.
Read spoke about her life after the trial in an interview on "The Howie Carr Show" Thursday .
More about the case
Read the original article on MassLive .
