On Monday, Feb. 23, jury selection for the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been canceled. The Court gave no reason for the suspension of this phase of the legal proceedings.
According to a court notice filed on Sunday, Feb. 22, “jury selection for 2/23/15 is cancelled” and “will resume on Tuesday 2/24/15.”
Jury selection has already been scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 9 a.m.
BostInno reached out for more information behind Monday’s jury selection cancelation. We’ll be sure to update this article upon receiving a response.
The court official for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dispatched a statement on Friday saying voir dire “will likely be concluded” early this week followed by both parties’ right to peremptory challenges – the dismissal of certain potential jury members for reasons that need not be explained.
Northeastern School of Law Professor Daniel Medwed told BostInno that peremptory challenges cannot be used on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex alone.
Assuming there are no more weather delays, which stalled voir dire for several days during the month of Feb., or unforeseen cancellations, the court official noted further that opening statements could occur “the following week,” indicating a possible start date of March 2.
It was previously thought that the trial proper would commence Feb. 17.
News of Monday’s jury selection postponement comes just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed to hear arguments from the defense as to why they contend Tsarnaev’s trial should be relocated out of Boston. The staple argument is that jury selection thus far has shown potential jurors to already posses a bias and are willing to levy a verdict of guilty – as well as capital punishment.
The Court has yet to make a ruling at this time.
Presiding Judge George O’Toole has ruled on multiple occasions prior that a fair and impartial jury can be found in Massachusetts, denying previous motions to relocate.
According to the Boston Globe, Judge O’Toole has “questioned 235 potential jurors over 19 days in an effort to find a pool of 70 suitable people. As of Wednesday, O’Toole had found 61 such people.”
A total of 12 jurors are required for trial along with 6 alternates.
