The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts on Wednesday sought permission to weigh in on a proposal from prosecutors in the Karen Read case to keep protesters at least 500 feet from the courthouse when her sensational murder trial starts in less than two weeks.
The civil liberties group filed a motion in Norfolk Superior Court seeking permission to submit an amicus brief “in connection with” the pending request from District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey’s office for the buffer zone when Read goes to trial on April 16.
“ACLUM is an organization dedicated to protecting civil rights and civil liberties in the Commonwealth, including the rights of free expression and assembly,” said the one-page filing from the ACLU. “The Memorandum is intended to assist the Court by laying out standards that should be applied in determining whether or not to allow any portion of the pending Motion” for the buffer zone.
In requesting the buffer zone around Norfolk Superior Court, prosecutors said in a legal filing last week that the case has garnered intense pretrial publicity, prompting Read’s supporters to come to hearings and cause a commotion. Judge Beverly J. Cannone is presiding over the case.
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“There have been demonstrations on the sidewalks in front of the courthouse, on the courthouse stairs ... and instances of individuals confronting and following potential trial witnesses to and from their vehicles for appearances at court proceedings,” prosecutors wrote.
They said demonstrators “often carry ‘Free Karen Read’ signs or posters with their interpretation of the evidence. Individuals have also amplified their voices with bullhorns to yell at potential witnesses or promote their theory of the case. The demonstrations also feature individuals and animals wearing ‘Free Karen Read’ or similarly messaged clothing.”
The integrity of the trial could be compromised if prospective jurors “are exposed to the messages contained in the demonstrations,” prosecutors wrote.
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Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash causing personal injury and death. She’s free on bail.
Prosecutors allege she backed her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, outside a Canton home on Jan. 29, 2022, after the pair had been out drinking with friends.
Read’s lawyers maintain that she’s the victim of a law enforcement cover-up and that O’Keefe was fatally beaten inside the home, then owned by a fellow Boston police officer, before his body was placed outside.
Federal prosecutors have launched a separate grand jury probe of how state law enforcement handled the case, according to officials and legal filings. Federal prosecutors haven’t commented publicly on the investigation.
In the buffer motion, Morrissey’s office said the government also wants an order barring people in the courtroom from having “papers, water bottles, tote bags, signs, buttons, pins, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, or any other attire or item that contains any images or writing that suggests a favorable opinion of either party.”
“Information regarding opinions that members of the public have about this case [is] irrelevant and may be prejudicial to the Commonwealth and/or defendant,” prosecutors wrote.
Such orders are not without precedent in high-profile cases.
In Norfolk County, buffer zones were implemented for both trials related to the “Puppy Doe” animal abuse case, the second of which resulted in Radoslaw Artur Czerkawski being convicted in 2018 of 12 counts of animal cruelty for heinously torturing a dog in a case that garnered international headlines.
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And a lawyer for Emanuel Lopes, who was convicted in February at his second trial of murdering Weymouth police Sergeant Michael Chesna and Vera Adams, 77, in 2018, had sought a buffer zone prior to the first trial keeping demonstrators from within 500 feet of the courthouse, records show. The first trial ended in a hung jury.
In Bristol County, the judge presiding over the first murder trial of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez in 2014 issued an order barring anyone wearing team-themed clothing from entering the courthouse at trial, to “ensure the safety and well-being of all trial participants ... and the dignity” of the legal proceedings.
Prosecutors in the Read case said they’re also seeking an order barring “any individual in the courthouse from wearing any buttons, shirts or insignia related to the defendant, the victim, or law enforcement; including a prohibition on law enforcement officers who are testifying or are members of the audience, from wearing their department-issued uniforms or any police emblems.”
Cannone has yet to rule on the motion for the buffer zone.
“The judge will consider all points of view in making a determination of what is necessary for the administration of justice,” said David Traub, a spokesperson for Morrissey, in a phone interview.
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But Mark J. Geragos, a prominent criminal defense attorney based in Los Angeles, was skeptical of the prosecution’s request.
“It’s really quite a stretch for the Government to ask for a buffer zone or moat around a public trial,” said Geragos, whose clients have included Michael Jackson, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Roger Clinton, and former congressman Gary Condit, in a statement.
Separately Wednesday, a lawyer for four Karen Read supporters identified as Tracey Anne Spicuzza, Lorena Jenkinson, Dana Stewart Leonard, and Paul Cristoforo registered their opposition to the proposed buffer zone.
The four filed a motion through attorney Marc J. Randazza “to Intervene for the Limited Purpose of Upholding and Defending the First Amendment by Opposing the Commonwealth’s Motion for a Buffer Zone and Restraining Signs or Clothing that Express a Viewpoint About the Trial,” records show.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.