Former prosecutor Brad Bailey on judge's venue order in 'Tsarnaev'
By: Noah Schaffer February 13, 2014
Lawyers in the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev case appeared in court Feb. 12 for the first time since the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would seek the death penalty against the accused Boston Marathon bomber.
While the headlines from the hearing focused on U.S. District Court Judge
George A. O'Toole's setting of a Nov. 3 trial date, other important
scheduling matters came up as well. Most notably, O'Toole told defense
lawyers that if they intend to file a motion for a change of venue, they
must do so by June 18, which is Tsarnaev's next court date.
In a Lawyers Weekly podcast, criminal defense attorney Brad Bailey explains
why the June 18 date does not bar the defense from renewing a venue request
on the eve of trial; what factors Tsarnaev will consider before deciding
whether to ask the judge to move the case out of Boston; and what his
lawyers might do if O'Toole denies such a motion.