BOSTON — A judge ruled Thursday that Karen Read will not have to take a deposition in her wrongful-death lawsuit until after her criminal trial in January.

Brief by Judge William M. White Jr. on Thursday effectively postpones the trial that charges Read in the death of John O’Keefe, the Boston police officer she loved. The lawsuit also describes negligence on the part of bars that continued to serve her drinks despite signs that she was drunk.

Read has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting retrial on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Her two-month criminal trial ended in July when the judge declared a mistrial after jurors said they were deadlocked. The judge rejected arguments that jurors later said they unanimously agreed Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene.

Read appealed the decision to the state’s highest court. Next week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral arguments in her bid to dismiss the two charges.

Read’s attorneys filed a motion to postpone the trial, citing that the criminal action would adversely affect Read’s Fifth Amendment rights and her ability to vigorously defend herself against prosecution.

Read is accused of hitting O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowstorm in January 2022. A second trial is scheduled for January 27.

But an attorney for O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, and other relatives who filed the wrongful-death lawsuit oppose any delays. They suggested that reliance on the Fifth Amendment ignored the fact that she has spoken publicly about her case several times to the media and will be the subject of at least one upcoming documentary.

After barhopping, Read — a former adjunct professor at Bentley College — dropped O’Keefe, a 16-year member of the Boston Police Department, outside the Canton home of another police officer. His body was found in the front yard. An autopsy found O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.

Read’s lawyers argued that O’Keefe was killed inside the home and that those involved chose to frame her because she was a “convenient stranger”.