Emergency application
Retrial after an acquittal
Karen Read v. Superior Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk County
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on April 9, 2025: the lower court's ruling stays in effect while the appeal continues.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Karen Read asks the Supreme Court to pause her retrial in Massachusetts Superior Court while it decides whether to review her case. Read argues her retrial on two charges, including second-degree murder, would violate the ban on being tried twice for the same offense. She says the first jury reached a final, unanimous decision but did not announce it.
What the Court did
The Court refused emergency help: Justice Jackson denied Read’s application (turned down her request) to pause the proceedings. That denial does not decide whether the retrial violates the ban on being tried twice for the same offense. The docket says the Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
The denial leaves proceedings in the Norfolk County Superior Court without a Supreme Court pause. This emergency ruling does not decide whether Read can be retried; the docket lists no related case on the main legal question and no argument is set.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A955. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.