BOSTON Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:36am EST
BOSTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for accused Boston Marathonbomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday challenged the juryselection process as a federal judge began questioning potentialjurors in the case involving the largest attack on U.S. soilsince 2001.
Defense attorney David Bruck complained that U.S. DistrictJudge George O'Toole was not asking sufficiently detailedquestions as he began reviewing the first group of 20 jurorssummoned, as the court works to whittle down a field of 1,350candidates to a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates.
Tsarnaev, 21, faces the threat of execution if convicted ofkilling three people and injuring 264 in the largestmass-casualty attack in the United States since the Sept. 11attacks. He is also charged with killing a police officer threedays after the April 15, 2013, bombing.
After the first three candidates were examined, Bruck pausedproceedings to contend that O'Toole was not asking jurorsspecifically if they would be able to vote for life in prison ifthey found Tsarnaev guilty of the terrorism charges.
"It doesn't matter whether the juror might vote for life inan unintentional killing because that's not what we're dealingwith," Bruck said. "We really don't think we're going to have afair jury unless they're asked."
O'Toole noted that all the jurors summoned for questioninghad already filled out detailed written questionnaires, whichindicated they could vote either way.
"Digging for details from someone who hasn't prepared byspending time and recalling all that will not likely yieldreliable answers," said O'Toole, who doing all the questioning.
Tsarnaev appeared in court on Thursday wearing a sportjacket and collared shirt, more formally dressed than in lastweek's appearances, and appeared to have trimmed his bushy hair.He smiled and joked with his attorneys while waiting for jurorsto arrive, a contrast from his disaffected demeanor last week.
The depth of emotion surrounding the attack on the historicrace, which draws the world's top marathoners, was illustratedin the questioning of the first few candidates, which included aman whose wife was a hospital nurse who treated victims of theblast.
Asked if he could put those emotions aside, the man replied,"It's tough, because it hit my wife hard ... I possibly could,yes."
Thousands were crowded around the finish line when the twopressure-coooker bombs went off, and hundreds of thousandsaround Boston were ordered to remain in their homes four dayslater during the hunt for the bombers.
Another candidate, a young man, said his roommates wereexcited that he might be chosen.
"They think it's very cool that I would get to sentence himto death," the man said.
Candidates need not be unaware of the attacks to be eligibleto serve, O'Toole has said, though they must have an open mindon whether Tsarnaev is guilty or innocent until they have heardthe evidence. If they find him guilty, they must be willing toat least consider voting for execution.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/15/boston-bombing-trial-idUSL1N0UU1R720150115
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