A federal judge set an October date for state prosecutors to return or destroy materials in their possession from a federal investigation in the Karen Read case, a step lawyers say is progress on an issue that has taken weeks to resolve .

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s office was initially required to return or destroy the materials from the federal investigation by July 18, 30 days after the end of Read’s trial, which concluded with her acquittal. Prosecutors only disclosed the deadline days before, leaving defense attorneys scrambling.

Now, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper has given the district attorney’s office until Oct. 21.

The district attorney’s office has already turned over the 100+ pages of text messages from former Massachusetts State Police trooper M

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