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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
(photo: FBI Wanted Poster)
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BOSTON — Jury selection in the Jan. 5 trial of Boston Marathon
bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will take at least a week to complete,
a federal judge said Monday at a brief status conference in Boston.Judge
George O'Toole said about 1,000 potential jurors will need to fill out
questionnaires to produce 100 qualified individuals who could serve as
the 12 jurors and six alternates.
"It's kind of a rolling admission policy," O'Toole said.
O'Toole
made his projections during a 12-minute status conference, which
focused on housekeeping matters for the final two months before trial.
Prosecuting and defense attorneys were in the Boston federal courthouse
for the conference; Tsarnaev was not present.
Tsarnaev is charged
in a 30-count indictment that alleges he worked with his older brother,
Tamerlan, to explode two bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line
April 15, 2013. The blasts left three dead and more than 260 injured,
including 15 who lost limbs. If convicted, Tsarnaev could get the death
penalty.
In court filings earlier this year, defense attorneys had
petitioned O'Toole to relocate the trial on the grounds that impaneling
an impartial jury in Boston would be impossible. O'Toole ruled last
month that the trial would go forward in Boston. He said that despite
the widespread impact of the bombings, the Boston metropolitan area is
large enough to generate a sufficient pool of qualified jurors.
Attorneys
will be back in court at least twice before the trial begins. Status
conferences are scheduled for Nov. 12 and Dec. 18.
Source: USA Today
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