Lawyers say Boston Marathon bomb suspect unfairly restricted
BOSTON - Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are again asking a federal judge to lift special restrictions
that have been placed on their client in prison, saying they are impeding their
defense.
"These obstacles thwart preparation of important parts of the defense case .... and also threaten the integrity of attorney work product," the lawyers said. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed that a defendant's rights to a lawyer "grants attorneys a zone of privacy within which to prepare the client's case and plan strategy, without undue interference," the lawyers wrote in the filing.
The measures limit Tsarnaev's interaction with people who are helping the defense and restrict the communications and other activities of the defense team, the lawyers said.
They previously asked U.S. District Court Judge George
O'Toole Jr. to ease the restrictions. Prosecutors lifted some.
Also Thursday, O'Toole allowed the appointment of a second attorney with expertise in defending clients facing the death penalty. David Bruck joins death penalty expert Judy Clarke on Tsarnaev's defense team.
The younger brother is being held after pleading not guilty to multiple charges. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed four days after the marathon
following a gun battle with police.