Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Judge Sets Nov. 3 as Start of Trial for Boston Bombing Suspect

BOSTON — A federal judge here on Wednesday set Nov. 3 as the start of the trial for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of the deadly bombing of the Boston Marathon last year.

Prosecutors say Mr. Tsarnaev, 20, worked with his older brother, Tamerlan, to place two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon on April 15, 2013. The explosions killed three people and wounded more than 260.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed following a shootout with the police later that week; Dzhokar was captured and charged last summer in a 30-count terrorism indictment, to which he pleaded not guilty. He is being held at a federal medical prison center at Fort Devens, Mass., and did not attend the hearing.

Last month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The trial date, which was set by District Judge George A. O’Toole during a hearing on Wednesday morning, is far earlier than the fall 2015 trial date that was requested by Mr. Tsarnaev’s defense team.

During the hearing, Mr. Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that they were struggling to obtain all the evidence they need to prepare for trial — including 2,000 pieces of evidence at an F.B.I. lab in Quantico, Va.

“It’s not the defense dragging their feet,” said Judy Clarke, a member of Mr. Tsarnaev’s defense team with expertise in death penalty cases. “It’s that we’re really struggling getting access and information.”

The prosecution team said they were making relevant evidence — including 67 terabytes of digital evidence — available to the defense.

Mr. O’Toole also set a June deadline for the defense to file a change-of-venue motion.

The hearing on Wednesday was the first time a date was established for Mr. Tsarnaev’s trial; such schedules, however, can be subject to change during trial preparation.

Marc Fucarile, who was the last victim of the bombing to leave the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries, including the loss of a leg, attended the hearing, using crutches to walk.

A correction was made on 
Feb. 14, 2014

An article on Thursday about the scheduling of a trial in the Boston Marathon bombing misspelled the surname of a lawyer representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is charged in the deadly attack. She is Judy Clarke, not Clark.

How we handle corrections

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 19 of the New York edition with the headline: Massachusetts: Nov. 3 Trial Is Set for Defendant in Marathon Killings. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT