Appeals court rejects Boston Marathon bomber's bid to remove judge from his case
The appeals court concluded that O'Toole should continue to preside over the case..
Tsarnaev, 32,cq
gone before the US Supreme Court.
In March 2024, the appeals court ordered O'Toole to investigate defense claims that two jurors were biased and should have been stricken from the panel. If he finds they were, then Tsarnaev is entitled to a new trial over whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or death, according to the appeals court.
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The appeals court found O'Toole erred by denying a defense request
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During jury selection, one juror said she had not commented about the case, but the defense found she had tweeted or retweeted 22 times about the bombings, including a retweet calling Tsarnaev a 'piece of garbage,' according to court filings. Another juror said none of his Facebook friends had commented on the trial, yet one friend had urged him to 'play the part' so he could get on the jury and send Tsarnaev 'to jail where he will be taken care of.'
O'Toole was ordered to investigate potential juror bias and hold a new sentencing
trial for Tsarnaev if he concludes that either of the jurors should have been stricken from the panel.
Earlier this year, O'Toole denied a defense request to recuse himself from the case, prompting the latest appeal. The inquiry related to the two jurors has been shrouded in secrecy. Last year, O'Toole ordered all filings submitted under seal, citing concerns about the jurors' privacy and protecting the integrity of the high-stakes proceedings, though he later released some of them.
Tsarnaev admitted during his trial in federal court in Boston that he placed a bomb in a backpack in front of the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street that killed Martin
Evidence showed his older brother,
a few blocks away that killed
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The jury that heard Tsarnaev's trial recommended death, rejecting claims that the then 19-year-old was not responsible because of the influence of his brother.
In 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Shelley Murphy can be reached at
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