Trial of Marathon Bombing Suspect to Remain in Boston, Judge Rules

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U.S. |Trial of Marathon Bombing Suspect to Remain in Boston, Judge Rules

http://nyti.ms/1viw7Jh

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of planting two bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon, would remain in Boston but would be delayed for two months.

In making his decision, Judge George A. Oâ€™Toole of Federal District Court rejected an argument by Mr. Tsarnaevâ€™s lawyers that the trial be moved because their client could not get a fair trial in Boston.

Judge Oâ€™Toole, however, delayed the start of the trial until Jan. 5; jury selection was scheduled to begin Nov. 3. Lawyers for Mr. Tsarnaev had sought a delay until September 2015.

Mr. Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty in the bombing that killed three and injured more than 260. He and his older brother, Tamerlan, are accused of detonating two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon. Tamerlan was killed during a gun battle with the police days after the bombings.

Earlier this month, the prosecution and the defense agreed to an elaborate process by which a jury may be selected. Under the agreement, the court would issue 2,000 summonses to potential jurors late this month, six weeks before the trial.

The government and defense lawyers proposed that 800 potential jurors be brought into court on Nov. 3 in groups of 200. The potential jurors in each group would be told about the case, introduced to the parties and read the names of potential witnesses. They would then be given questionnaire written jointly by the prosecution and the defense. Four hundred jurors would complete the process the first day, and 400 the next.

The prosecution and the defense would then have a week to review the questionnaires and would submit a list of jurors who could be struck. After the court rules on those to be eliminated, both sides would begin interviewing the remaining jurors.

Jury selection is expected to take several weeks, and the trial is expected to take several months.