A judge has denied requests by lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to move his trial out of state and to delay its start, meaning jury selection will begin on Monday in Boston federal court.
US District Court Judge George O'Toole Jr issued his denials on Wednesday and said explanations will be issued later in the day.
Defence lawyers had said it would be impossible to find an impartial jury in Massachusetts given the massive amounts of publicity the case has received. They also said the trial should be delayed so they could better prepare and review enormous amounts of discovery turned over by prosecutors.
Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges connected to the April 2013 explosions at the finish line that killed three and injured more than 260. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Prosecutors say Tsarnaev, 21, and his older brother, Tamerlan, planted and detonated two pressure-cooker bombs. Tamerlan died following a firefight with police several days after the bombings. Dzhokhar was captured later that day, wounded and hiding in a boat parked in a backyard in Watertown, a Boston suburb.
Jury selection is expected to take several weeks because of extensive media coverage and the thousands of runners, spectators and others in the area personally affected by the bombings. The process also could be slowed if potential jurors express objections to the death penalty.
Tsarnaev will first be tried on the 30 charges against him, and if convicted on any capital charges a second trial would be held to determine if he should receive the death penalty.
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