Defense attorneys for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were in court today arguing that the alleged Boston Marathon bomber’s time in Fort Devens prison is cruel and unconstitutional. The presiding justice has taken all arguments under advisement and has scheduled another status hearing for February 12, 2014.
Back in August, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) be enacted which limits the amount of contact the defendant has with outsiders, including his legal counsel. Tsarnaev’s public defenders argued before Judge George O’Toole, Jr. that this violates his constitutional right to a fair trial.
Tsarnaev, the primary suspect behind the tragic dual explosions on April 15 that killed three and injured 264 as well as the murder of MIT police officer Sean Collier, was not present in the courtroom.
Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that open communication could result in injury or even death and that SAMs ought to be lifted in this regard.
Judge O’Toole also ruled that at this juncture, it’s too early to set a trial date, though, he did assign February 28 as the date for the defense to file a motion to dismiss or change the venue for the court proceedings. And though the prosecution is pushing for the government to set a trial date, the defense has noted that it still has upwards of 100,000 pages of evidence to still sift through.
Defense says government is pushing for “an early trial date.” #tsarnaev
— Hilary Sargent (@lilsarg) November 12, 2013
#tsarnaev defense says it is entitled to information about a waltham murder that govt says is still under investigation — David Frank (@davidfrankmlw) November 12, 2013
#Tsarnaev attorney tells judge govt seems to want to push forward w/ trial while procrastinating on turning over full discovery to defense. — Todd Kazakiewich (@ToddKazakiewich) November 12, 2013
Defense says they are “baffled” why govt not disclosing all evidence in Tsarnaev case.#wbz — Doug Cope (@dcopewbz) November 12, 2013
Govt says it has “voluntarily stepped up” to provide “virtually all mitigating evidence.” #Tsarnaev — Hilary Sargent (@lilsarg) November 12, 2013
US Attorney Ortiz to make death penalty recommendation this week in #Tsarnaev Marathon bombing case http://t.co/anEH5JcuPi via @BostonDotCom
— David Filipov (@davidfilipov) November 12, 2013
Defense says they will have to “embark on FOIA litigation” to obtain something “government could get with a phone call.” #tsarnaev
— Hilary Sargent (@lilsarg) November 12, 2013
After lengthy arguments, judge takes matter under advisement. #Tsarnaev
— Milton Valencia (@MiltonValencia) November 12, 2013
The Prosecution has estimated that a trial would last for at least 90 days, with an additional 60 should the death penalty be sought.
According to the Boston Globe, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz will file a recommendation for the death penalty this week, should the suspect be convicted of any of the 17 charges levied against him that carry the weight of capital punishment. He was indicted on a total of 30 charges, including use of weapons of mass destruction.
Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also filed motions to ease the restrictions on Tsarnaev, contesting that the accused has been “denied TV and radio, family photos, prayer with other inmates and visitation from anyone other than his lawyers and immediate family.”
The ACLU was subsequently barred from the proceedings.
