BOSTON (AP) – Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have asked a judge three times to move his trial out of Massachusetts because of the emotional impact of the deadly attack. Three times, the judge has refused.
On Thursday, Tsarnaev’s defense team will ask a federal appeals court to take the decision out of the hands of Judge George O’Toole Jr. and order him to move the trial. They insist that Tsarnaev cannot find a fair and impartial jury in Massachusetts because too many people believe he’s guilty and many have personal connections to the marathon or the bombings.
Prosecutors are just as insistent that Tsarnaev can get a fair trial in the state.
A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday morning.
In written court filings, Tsarnaev’s lawyers cite their analysis of lengthy questionnaires completed by 1,373 prospective jurors. They say 68 percent indicated they have already formed an opinion that Tsarnaev is guilty and 69 percent identified some kind of personal connection to the case.