Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Trial Starts Monday After Judge Rejects Delay Request
Monday it begins. The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused of orchestrating the Boston Marathon bombings, will begin January 5 after a federal judge rejected the defense’s request to postpone the trial.
US District Judge George A. O’Toole also denied the defense’s request to move the trial to another district. Tsarnaev’s lawyers had asked for more time to prepare for the trial because of the amount of evidence in the case, and had asked for it to be moved to another district to avoid what they said would be a biased jury.
Jury selection begins Monday. The case will take place at Joseph Moakley courthouse in Boston. Tsarnaev appeared in court for his final pre-trial hearing December 18, his first appearance in public since July 2013.
Tsarnaev faces 30 counts, including murder and use of a weapon of mass destruction, for allegedly setting off the bombs that injured 260 people and killed three others in April 2013.
He could receive the death penalty if convicted.
