A judge on Wednesday denied attempts by lawyers for the Boston Marathon terrorism suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to delay the start of his trial.
The decision by U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole, Jr. means that jury selection will begin Monday in Boston federal court.
Lawyers for Tsarnaev tried to make the case that it would impossible to find an impartial jury in Massachusetts because of the amount of publicity given to the case. They also said they needed more time to examine the large amounts of discovery turned over my prosecutors.
The lawyers tried to use the example of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh whose trial was moved to Denver because of media attention.
Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges that could bring the death penalty if he is convicted.
Jury selection in the case is expected to take weeks because of the intense media coverage and the number of local residents impacted in some way because of the bombings. Also, jurors who object to the death penalty could also be excluded from the case.
A judge appointed by President Obama created a hostile environment in their courtroom when they implied that a pro-life doctor was a liar.
Federal Judge William Conley is overseeing a trial challenging a Wisconsin state law that requires abortionists to have admitting privileges at hospitals. The law is similar to one upheld in many southern states.
Dr. John Thorp, an obstetrician with the University of North Carolina, was testifying about abortions and the complications that arise during the procedure. As Dr. Thorp was testifying, Judge Conley began to make an increasingly hostile series of questions and comments to Dr. Thorp.
When Dr. Thorp testified that he believed complications for abortions to be under-reported by abortion providers, Judge Conley referenced a quote from author Mark Twain.
“[There are] lies, damn lies and statistics,” the Judge said to Dr. Thorp.
When Dr. Thorp was obviously insulted by the Judge’s implications he was a liar, the Judge tried to backtrack and say that he wasn’t really saying that Dr. Thorp was lying.
Dr. Thorp stuck to his testimony throughout the rest of the hostile questioning.
“Admission privileges allow for continued care rather than sending a patient to a black box, which is my opinion what transfer agreements allow them to do,” Thorp said. “I reject the final premise that a law like this will harm Wisconsin women.”
