In Plymouth Superior Court, Judge Mark Gildea urged attorneys to stop “pandering to social media” during a hearing in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by John O’Keefe’s family against Karen Read. He also criticized how subpoenas and the timeline for deposing w
The courtroom felt tense before anyone even talked about the deposition.
In Plymouth Superior Court on Wednesday, Judge Mark Gildea interrupted the flow of motion arguments in the wrongful death case filed by the family of John O’Keefe against Karen Read and told both sides to change how they present their case.
Reading from the pleadings. the judge said one of Read’s motions was “replete with arguments presented as facts.” Then he turned directly to what he wanted going forward. “There’s a lot more background in these submissions than I really need to decide these issues,” Gildea said. “So I’m going to ask all of you. in the pleadings that you file. at least with me. just write what I need to know in order to decide the issue and stop pandering to social media.”.
Read’s attorney, Aaron Rosenberg, responded, “We’re not pandering to anyone and we don’t intend to.”
Gildea was not persuaded. “I don’t think facts, or claimed facts like that, are really relevant. They’re nothing but attempts to sensationalize certain things,” he said.
The hearing quickly moved to the practical question at the center of the dispute: when Colin Albert will be deposed.
Read’s attorneys had filed a motion to compel Albert’s deposition in the still pending civil case. Albert is not a party to the lawsuit. The judge questioned the timing and handling of efforts to reach him.
Albert was notified on February 11 that attorneys planned for him to be deposed on April 29. But Gildea said a subpoena wasn’t issued until April 15 and wasn’t served until another six days later.
Rosenberg called it an oversight and said “there were a lot of moving pieces.”
Gildea pushed back hard on that explanation. “It’s hard to envision that it was an oversight that the deposition of a non-party, deposition subpoena doesn’t go out until shortly before the deposition and two months after the notice of deposition,” he said.
The judge then focused on Albert’s availability—an issue complicated by his Army service.
When Albert’s attorney, James Tuxbury, told the court that Colin Albert would not be available until the fall because he joined the Army and is attending basic training, Gildea responded bluntly: “Not going to happen.”
“It’s not a matter of figuring it out,” he said. “It’s a matter of you saying to him there’s a duly issued subpoena … A subpoena needs to mean something.”
Tuxbury said he could only speak to Albert for one hour per week during basic training, and that he planned to try to find out Saturday when Albert might be available for deposition.
Gildea made clear the schedule the case is tied to. “Let just make it clear. We’re not waiting until the fall. Discovery ends in this case on August 17. So you’ve got to go find out when he can get back up here and be deposed,” the judge said.
Colin Albert’s role in the Karen Read cases has been central to the fight over who could have been responsible for John O’Keefe’s death.
During Read’s two high-profile criminal trials. her defense attorneys attempted to show that Albert was one of the people responsible for the death of O’Keefe. a former Boston police officer who was dating Read at the time. Read’s lawyers claimed Albert and two other men could have been involved in a fight with O’Keefe inside the Canton home where O’Keefe’s body was later found outside in the snow.
Albert took the stand during the first trial. He was questioned about photos of him with bloody knuckles after O’Keefe’s death, and about past videos that showed him threatening violence.
In the retrial, Judge Beverly Cannone ruled that the defense could not use Albert as part of its third-party culprit defense. Albert never took the stand during the second trial.
The timing of Wednesday’s hearing landed against another milestone in Read’s criminal case.
Thursday marked one year since Read was acquitted of all charges in her criminal case except operating under the influence. She was sentenced to one year of probation, which officially ended on Thursday.
Read was in the courtroom for Wednesday’s hearing, but Albert was not. His father, Chris Albert, and Jen McCabe—described as a key witness in both trials—were present.
Karen Read John O'Keefe wrongful death lawsuit Mark Gildea Aaron Rosenberg Colin Albert James Tuxbury deposition subpoena discovery ends August 17