Cleared of murder charges after her second trial, Karen Read of Massachusetts could pursue legal action against a number of individuals and government entities involved in the case against her, according to legal analysts.

“She has a way to sue both the individual officers who are violating her privacy who did an investigation that was not complete, that was inaccurate, that was incompetent,” said Linda Kenney Baden, a New York City defense attorney whose clients have included Aaron Hernandez, Phil Spector and Casey Anthony.

“And also she (may) sue the Commonwealth and the Massachusetts State Police for not training their officers to do a competent investigation and training their officers not to invade her privacy – and which results in her false arrest under the Constitution of the United States.” 

She may also have a malicious prosecution claim, Kenney Baden said.

Paul O’Keefe, brother of John O’Keefe, listens to testimony during the Karen Read murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., May 9, 2025. (Mark Stockwell/The Sun Chronicle via AP, Pool)

“She theoretically could sue one or more of the officers or investigators for violation of her constitutional rights, for fabricating reports or false submission of evidence,” said Randolph Rice, a Maryland-based attorney who has followed the case. “Then the issue becomes the supervising agency, [which] may deny liability because they will argue that it’s outside the scope of that investigating officer’s employment.”

He said embattled police may be in the clear, however, because they did establish probable cause before a grand jury.