Expected Start Date Pushed Back In Boston Marathon Bombing Trial
BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston Marathon bombing trial will not start on time as jury selection is taking longer than initially expected.
A court official said on Thursday that the estimated January 26 start date in the trial of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is "not realistic."
"The process of selecting a jury for the trial of U.S. v. Tsarnaev is progressing, but in the interest of thoroughness is taking longer than originally anticipated," the court said.
A new expected start date for the trial was not announced, but the court said a probable date will be announced sometime next week.
WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong reported Wednesday that lawyers met with Judge George O'Toole to take a closer look at the jury pool. The number of potential jurors that O'Toole questioned on the day was narrowed from 21 to 9.
A similar process is expected going forward as O'Toole will only question potential jurors whose questionnaires indicate that they would be a fit on the jury.
"The change in the process regarding the selection of the jury (Wednesday) seems to be an acknowledgement that they wanted to speed things up," said Gerry Leone, a WBZ-TV legal analyst and former Middlesex County District Attorney who is now a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP.
Tsarnaev faces the possibility of the death penalty as prosecutors say he and his brother, Tamerlan, placed two pressure-cooker bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, killing three people and injuring more than 260 spectators.