They argued that, because of widespread outrage in Boston after the deadly 2013 attack, jurors in the city couldn’t be objective before finding him guilty and recommending a death sentence.
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The filing concludes that the atmosphere tainted Tsarnaev’s constitutional right to an impartial trial.
“The social media activity of individual jurors and of their social media contacts is highly relevant to the question of venue, because it further demonstrates a constitutionally-intolerable level of risk to the fairness of the trial created by intense and widely-diffused public feeling in eastern Massachusetts before and during the proceedings”.
His lawyers want his guilty verdict overturned and a new trial to be held elsewhere to determine his guilt and penalty. The blasts killed three people and wounded over 260.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mellin with the jury, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the foreground.
The appeal, that is automatic in all murder convictions, also cites coverage of his family coming over from Russia for the trial; stories on the MR8 running team and fund-raisers in memory of the youngest bombing victim, 8-year-old Martin Richard; the mayor’s call for “One Day Boston” every April 15; and even the marathon itself with media mentions of the bombings on Boylston Street. His brother died after a shootout with police. The court ruled that part of the federal definition was unconstitutionally vague and struck it down.
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Tsarnaev’s lawyers filed documents Monday, explaining their desire for a new trial. In June, when a judge formally handed down that sentence, Tsarnaev apologized to the court for his actions.
