Defense attorneys for Boston Marathon bomber seek recusal of judge overseeing case

Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Attorneys for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are seeking to remove the judge overseeing the protracted legal battle over Tsarnaev’s death sentence. Tsarnaev’s lawyers said during a hearing in federal court in Boston Wednesday that U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole should be recused from the case, pointing to what they said were comments O’Toole made about the case on podcasts and at public events during the appeals process. Prosecutors said they are not opposed to a hearing on the issue, but said they believe the motion is meritless. O’Toole scheduled a hearing on the recusal request for next month. Tsarnaev was not in court.