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1,000 will be summoned to seat Boston bombing jury
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
USA Today
Thursday, Oct 23, 2014

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
(photo: FBI Wanted Poster)
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