(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Boston) - A day after the anniversary of the marathon bombings at least one survivor, Marc Fucarile, and his fiancee Jen Regan were back at federal court for marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s status conference – even though Tsarnaev himself was not there.
They were in a packed courtroom as the judge first denied a government request to restrict the defense’s access to autopsy photos, then denied a defense motion to dismiss some of the 30 charges Tsarnaev faces.
NECN legal analyst Randy Chapman says he understands why Judge George O’Toole called that defense motion premature.
"No matter what, even if they eliminated some of these counts, and focused the jury on maybe the more substantive counts of the murders that occurred, they’re certainly are going to get the full picture of what occurred on that day," he said.
Both sides argued over the legality of special administrative measures in place that allowed an FBI agent to listen in as Tsarnaev allegedly made incriminating statements to his sisters in jail.
"While he took it under advisement it seems quite probable that he will vacate the restrictions that allow an FBI agent to sit there and listen into the conversations with close family members," Chapman said.
While the defense said in court it had "doubts" it could make a November trial, Judge O'Toole said he was trying to keep everything on schedule, with the next status conference set for June 18.
Stay tuned to NECN for more as this story develops.
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