Lawyers for accused Boston bomber challenge jury questioning

[Miles Archer]

Lawyers for accused Boston bomber challenge jury questioning

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/15/us-boston-bombing-trial-idUSKBN0KO16T20150115

(Reuters) - Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday challenged the jury selection process as a federal judge began questioning potential jurors in the case involving the largest attack on U.S. soil since 2001.

Defense attorney David Bruck complained that U.S. District Judge George O'Toole was not asking sufficiently detailed questions, although the judge rebuffed the request, saying the field of 1,350 candidates is aware of the broad details of the case.

Tsarnaev, 21, faces the threat of execution if convicted of killing three people and injuring 264 in the largest mass-casualty attack in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He also is charged with killing a police officer three days after the April 15, 2013, bombing.

After the first three jury candidates were examined, Bruck paused proceedings to contend that O'Toole was not asking jurors specifically if they would be able to vote for life in prison if they found Tsarnaev guilty of the terrorism charges.

[msanthrope]

1. Good insertion of appeal points. nt