MOSCOW, July 10 (RAPSI) - RAPSI reports from the federal courthouse in Boston during the arraignment of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
LIVE UPDATES
00:35 Well, that's all for today. Thank you all for joining RAPSI on this epic occasion. As we already told you, the status conference should be held on September 23. We won't know for a while when the trial will begin. There are lots of preliminary issues to get out of the way first. But we will keep you updated as the proceedings move forward. Over and out from Boston.
00:06 That alien comment got under the supporter's skin. Things got a bit heated until the police told everyone to cool it.
00:04 There are fairly civil confrontations between the supporters and others. One supporter is yelling that Ibragim Todashev's death was part of a conspiracy. One advocate against supporters "do you believe in aliens too?"
00:00 "If you don't like this country go back to yours!" Is heard.
23:59 People are getting agressive outside the court.
23:49 Tsarnaev blew a kiss over his shoulder on the way out. There was the sound of muffled crying, but we're still trying to figure out exactly who from his family was there.
23:40 The courtroom is clearing out.
23:39 The victims are exiting the courtroom.
23:38 The defendant is remanded to the custody of the US marshals. Tsarnaev has left the courtroom at the hands of three large officers with shaved heads.
23:37 The judge reminds counsel of the presumption of public access to judicial documents. She says the court frowns upon the sealing of documents. The public has a right to know about the nature of the proceedings.
23:37 Tsarnaev is glancing at the audience in the courtroom as the judge speaks about the litigation budget.
23:36 The government intends to call 80-100 witnesses, and expects the trial to last three to four months. Monday 23 September has been suggested for an initial status conference. The judge directs defense counsel to consider sooner rather than later to come up with a proposed litigation budget.
23:35 The judge required him to answer for himself, refusing to let the attorney speak for him. He is saying not guilty to each set of counts that the clerk reads off. Tsarnaev is rubbing his neck and adjusting his collar as he continues to repeat not guilty to each set of counts.
23:34 Tsarnaev pleads not guilty to all counts
23:33 The prosecutor is reading off the possible maximum sentences for each of the counts Tsarnaev has been charged with. Many of them carry the
possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Several of them carry a minimum term of life impriosnment. Tsarnaev is standing.
23:31 Defense attorney says that Tsarnaev understandss the indictment. He has waived the reading of the indictment in its entirety. On counts 1 2 4 6 7 9 13 and 15 of the indictment, the max penalty is up to life imprisonment or the death penalty. 3 5 8 10 12 14 maximum penalty is life imprisonment or the death penalty. Tsarnaev's hand is bandaged. He is looking around the courtroom.
23:30 Tsarnaev is peering around the courtroom. The prosecution is introducing itself. The defense attorneys are introducing themselves. There are 30 victims and family members here in the courtroom today. They have the statutory right to be here at this proceeding under US law.
23:29 According to an information sheet published by the court, this is what can be expected at today's hearing: "After indictment, in most sessions, the defendant appears before a United States Magistrate Judge for an arraignment, at which the Magistrate Judge ensures the defendant has a copy of the Indictment, reads the Indictment to the defendant or states to him the substance of the charges, and then asks the defendant to enter a plea to the Indictment. Fed. R. Crim. P. 10(a)." Tsarnaev has entered. He looks pretty good in terms of injuries. He is wearing an orange jumpsuit.
23:27 The courtroom is silent. The Honorable Judge Marianne B. Bowler will be presiding over the case.
23:26 A security official outside of the courtroom expressed shock at how much commotion there was for a 15 minute hearing, between the media and public spectator presence. When asked whether he thought the judge would read out the indictment, he seemed fairly certain the answer was no. If the judge does read the indictment, that would lengthen the hearing by a fair amount.
23:25 The hearing is expected to last less than 30 minutes.
23:24 Armed guards are on the other side of the door that he's expected to walk through
23:23 Almost everyone appears to be in place, aside from the judge and the defendant - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
23:19 The courtroom is packed at this point, between reporters, courtroom artists, public spectators, and most importantly - victims.
23:16 Good evening from Boston! Your reporters Ingrid Burke and Vladimir Yaduta have been live on the scene since 7am, and thankfully our efforts
have proved not to have been in vain. We were # 1 and 2 respectively on the media list. You would understand how impressive a feat this was if you had seen the chaos outside the
courtroom. The whole affair turned into a bit of a circus with dozens of reporters and dozens of public spectators forming two lines. The dozens of spectators appeared to have been very yound and predominantly female. A few young women were wearing t-shirts in support of Tsarnaev. One such shirt had an enormous picture of his face across it.
Background
On April 15, twin blasts occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, leaving three dead and upwards of 200 injured. Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, aged 26 and 19 respectively, emerged as suspects in the case shortly thereafter. Tamerlan was killed during a police shootout later the same week. Dzhokhar was captured wounded but alive.
He was then charged in a criminal complaint dated April 21 with the use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.
Then on June 27, a federal grand jury returned a 30-count indictment against Dhzokhar. The charges include the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and conspiracy and the bombing of a place of public use resulting in death and conspiracy among others.
According to an accompanying FBI press release, seventeen of these charges carry sentences of up to life imprisonment or the death penalty, and the rest carry sentences of life imprisonment or imprisonment for a fixed period.
According to information on the court’s website, during an arraignment hearing a defendant generally appears before a Magistrate judge, who ensures that the defendant has received a copy of the indictment and reads the indictment or states its general substance. The defendant then generally enters a plea.
