Tsarnaev Denied Extra Time To Seek New Trial Venue

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cannot have more time to file a motion to move his trial out of Boston, a judge ruled Friday.

The defense attorneys had said Wednesday they will seek a change of venue for his November trial, but asked that a June 18 deadline to file the motion be pushed back to Aug. 3.

Judge George O'Toole said in his ruling that he had already delayed the filing deadline from February to June. He said since the defense has already determined it will ask to move the trial, it is fair to infer "that the defense team has investigated and considered the pertinent issues."

In their court filing, Tsarnaev's lawyers asked for more time to analyze media coverage of the case before filing the request.

Earlier Friday, prosecutors filed a motion opposing the delay they said could jeopardize the trial date.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges. He faces the possibility of the death penalty.

Prosecutors say Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan planted two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the 2013 Marathon, killing three people and injured about 260 others. Tamerlan died following a shootout with police several days later.

In a separate filing Friday, the defense also asked the judge to review Massachusetts State Police interview tapes in which a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, shot by an FBI agent during a joint interview in Florida, implicated Tamerlan in a 2011 triple slaying in Waltham, Mass. The judge is considering a defense request for any information prosecutors have on Tamarlan's connection to the Waltham slayings as they try to show Dzhokhar was influenced by his brother.