Judge Denies Tsarnaev Bid To Dimiss Charges

A federal judge has rejected a request by lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to dismiss the indictment against Tsarnaev over defense concerns about an underrepresentation of African-Americans and people over 70 on federal juries.

Judge George O'Toole Jr. on Friday also denied two defense motions to throw out evidence collected during a search of Tsarnaev's apartment, dorm room and laptop computer.

Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of carrying out the April 2013 bombing, which killed three people and injured 260.

Tsarnaev's lawyers argued that the warrants authorizing searches of his family's apartment in Cambridge and his dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth weren't specific enough and that some items were improperly seized. They also challenged the search of Tsarnaev's Yahoo email accounts and said authorities improperly used the fruits of those searches to later search his Gmail accounts.

O'Toole rejected Tsarnaev's arguments. Both prosecutors and the defense declined to comment on the judge's ruling.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors say he and his older brother, Tamerlan, planted twin pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon's finish line. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police three days after the bombings.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a boat parked in a yard in suburban Watertown. His trial is scheduled to begin in January.