BOSTON (AP) – The process of questioning potential jurors in the federal trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could be wrapped up by the end of next week, despite weather-related delays, a court official said Tuesday.
Tsarnaev, 21, is charged in the attack at the marathon on April 15, 2013. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two bombs exploded within seconds near the finish line. Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Jury selection began Jan. 5, when the first groups of a total of 1,373 prospective jurors filled out lengthy questionnaires. Judge George O’Toole Jr. began questioning individual jurors on Jan. 15. Since then, he has questioned 114 people over nine days.
The pace has been slower than expected. O’Toole originally said he hoped to question about 40 people per day, but he has only averaged about 13 per day so far.
Four days of questioning have been canceled due to two separate snowstorms, including Tuesday’s session. Questioning was expected to resume Wednesday,
Court Outreach Coordinator Ginny Hurley said despite the weather-related delays, the process is “progressing satisfactorily.” She said O’Toole, along with prosecutors and Tsarnaev’s lawyers, have been using responses on the questionnaires to limit the extent of interviews with some jurors and to skip interviews altogether with some others.
“Barring further weather delays, it is reasonable to think that the voir dire process may be completed by the end of next week,” Hurley said in an advisory sent to media outlets covering the trial.
O’Toole has not said how many prospective jurors have been eliminated. Many people have said they can’t be impartial because they already believe Tsarnaev is guilty.
Tsarnaev’s lawyers have asked three times to move his trial outside Massachusetts because of the emotional impact the bombing had here.
The judge rejected two requests and has not yet ruled on the third.
Once the court has accumulated a group of about 70 prospective jurors, prosecutors and Tsarnaev’s lawyers will be allowed to eliminate 23 people each for strategic reasons. The judge has said he will seat a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.