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Michael W. Morrissey
Michael W. Morrissey (born August 2, 1954) is the District Attorney of Norfolk County, Massachusetts (2010–present).[1] He was first elected to the DA's office in 2010 and is currently serving his fourth term as the lead prosecutor in Norfolk County. He previously served as a State Senator for the Norfolk and Plymouth district (1992–2010) in the Massachusetts Senate and a State Representative for the 1st Norfolk and 3rd Norfolk districts (1977–1993) in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[2] He is a Democrat and a resident of Squantum,[3] a neighborhood in North Quincy, Massachusetts.[4][5] Biography Morrissey is a native and lifelong resident of Quincy, Massachusetts.[2] After graduating from North Quincy High School in 1972, he earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Masters in Public Administration from Western New England College. Morrissey earned a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1985 and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar Association on December 17, 1985.[2] He began his thirty-plus year career as a legislator upon election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 3rd Norfolk district from 1976 to 1979 and the 1st Norfolk district from 1979 to 1993. He was then elected to the Massachusetts Senate, where he served as state senator for the Norfolk and Plymouth district, representing the City of Quincy and towns of Abington, Braintree, Hanover, Holbrook, and Rockland from 1993 to 2010.[4][5] Morrissey's first term as Norfolk District Attorney began after winning the 2010 District Attorney General Election. He was sworn in early, on January 2, 2011, to succeed William R. Keating, who had resigned from his position as Norfolk DA to serve in the United States House of Representatives.[1] Electoral History[6]
ControversyCommonwealth vs. Karen ReadNorfolk District Attorney Morrissey's office announced the arrest of Karen Read on February 2, 2022, in connection with the suspicious death of off-duty Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe in Canton, Massachusetts. Read, who was O’Keefe's girlfriend, was initially charged with manslaughter,[7] to which she pleaded not guilty in Stoughton District Court.[8] On June 9, 2022, the Norfolk District Attorney's office issued a press release stating that Karen Read had again been taken into custody by the Massachusetts State Police pursuant to new developments in the investigation of John O’Keefe's death.[9] A new warrant was issued following a decision by a Norfolk County grand jury to indict Read for felony criminal charges including homicide, motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision causing personal injury and death.[9] Read was arraigned on June 10th at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham. She entered a plea of ‘not guilty’ on all three charges and was granted conditional bail.[10] On Friday, August 25, 2023, District Attorney Morrissey's office released a pre-recorded video statement addressing concerns regarding public interest in the prosecution of Karen Read. He strongly condemned conspiracy theories propagating “false narratives and accusations” related to the case circulating online.[11] Morrissey attributed ongoing incidences of harassment and intimidation of witnesses and their families to the spread of misinformation through conspiracy theories. He cautioned citizens that online misinformation should never be “used as a pre-text to attack and harass others,” stating, “what is happening to the witnesses – some with no actual involvement in the case — is wrong...it needs to stop now.”[11] In the video, Morrissey refers to his message as "the first statement of its kind" in his twelve years as Norfolk District Attorney.[12] The first jury trial of Karen Read began at Norfolk Superior Court in April 2024. Some testimony from law enforcement officers assigned to the investigation raised public suspicions of alleged conflicts of interest and general incompetence, which prompted some questioning of the integrity of cases investigated and prosecuted by the Norfolk District Attorney's Office under Morrissey.[13] A mistrial was declared and the case is currently scheduled for re-trial in January 2025, pending appeal. References
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