Friday saw another loss for the fans of Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney who funded attorney Mark Randazza’s appeal of the 200-foot “buffer zone” around the courthouse in the Karen Read murder trial suffered another loss on Friday as the Massachusetts State Supreme Court denied Randazza’s motion.
Associate Justice Serge Georges, Jr., ruled that Judge Beverly J. Cannone’s order establishing a “buffer zone” around the courthouse was content neutral and did not violate the First Amendment rights of those set to protest during the up-coming Karen Read trial.
Judge Georges also found that the narrow tailoring of the zone serves a significant public interest as it is designed to preserve the integrity and fairness of the defendant’s trial.
Finally, the Judge ruled that the zone leaves petitioners with ample alternative channels to express their views. They still have the ability to demonstrate outside of the zone and the zone contains no restrictions on other channels of communication by which to express their views about the case.
Read is accused of second-degree murder in the case after a 2022 incident in which she is alleged to have backed into then boyfriend John O’Keefe, leaving him for dead in a snowstorm.
The prosecution in the case asked for the buffer zone after Kearney led protests on the steps of the courthouse during the summer of 2023 which resulted in him being charged with felony witness intimidation.
Kearney’s fans reportedly raised $6,000.00 in a failed bid to have Randazza attempt to intervene in the murder trial to prevent it from moving forward, then another $11,000.00 to attempt to quash the buffer zone.
Observers have also made public statements questioning Randazza’s actions in taking both cases as it was wildly known that outside attorneys cannot intervene in criminal cases, yet Randazza still took the funding to attempt to do so.
Jury selection in Read’s trial begins on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
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