Attorneys For Boston Marathon Bomber To Appeals Judges

On December 12 2019, the Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued an appeal before a three judge panel that their client did not receive an impartial trial. Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that the trial held in 2015 was unfair due to the jury selection which was biased against Tsarnaev. They also argued to the U.S. Court of Appeals that Judge O’Toole should not have permitted the trial to be held in Boston because Boston was seen as the “victim” in the terrorist attacks. Robert Bloom, a professor of law at Boston College, has stated that trials attracting attention from the public are usually moved to a different state. Nancy Gertner, a professor at Harvard Law School said, “Boston was the victim and not just conceptually, but also everyone was victimized by the lockdown.” She also mentioned that at the time of the trial in 2015 the city was commemorating the second anniversary of the attack and the city had “Boston Strong” displayed everywhere. The defence attorneys argued that a couple of jurors were tainted because of prior personal posting about the case on social media. One juror said on Twitter that Tsarnaev was a “piece of garbage” and she also did not mention that she was sheltered in place during the search for Tsarnaev. In addition another juror was encouraged by his friend on Facebook to “get on the jury and send Tsarnaev to jail where he will be taken care of.” Federal prosecutors rejected the defense’s argument that posting on social media caused a bias. Furthermore the defense will also argue that they were not allowed to show evidence that Tsarnaev, who was only about 20 years old at the time of the bombing, was under the influence of his older brother, Tamerlan, who was known to be involved in the murder of three other individuals. Use this  NPR article to help answer the questions.

1. Do you think that Tsarnaev received a fair trial?
2. Do you feel safe in a crowded place such as a subway or a crowded city area.
3. If Tsarnaev is given another trial outside of Massachusetts will there be any difference in the result?
4. If you knew or were close to somebody who was affected by the bombings would you want to give Tsarnaev another trial?

Hands-Free Law

On November 25 2019, Governor Charlie Baker passed a law regarding hand-held phones, banning the usage of hand-held phones in moving motor vehicles. Currently, there is a law that states drivers can still hold their phones to talk, however this has now been changed. The no texting law has been a secondary offense law meaning that someone would have to be first pulled over for another driving offense, then fined for texting. As a result of this recent law, drivers can no longer hold a phone in their hand while driving while the vehicle is moving. Hand-held phone usage has now been classified as a primary offense, making it a top priority and results in a serious fine. The law was passed in hopes to decrease the amount of car accidents that occur yearly. Charlie Baker claims “this law was far overdue”, Massachusetts is the last state northeast of Pennsylvania without a law regarding hand-held phone usage in moving vehicles. From now on citizens in Massachusetts are only allowed to use devices in a hands free manner, either connected to bluetooth or propped up on some form of stand. If this law is disregarded or not followed the driver may receive a fine of $100 to $500, due to the lack of care for safety. However, there is a process to implement the law, no police officers are allowed to fine or charge anyone until March 31 2020, granting drivers the ability to familiarize themselves with the ban. This law is one step closer to providing better safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and the roads in general. This law has caused a large controversy, and resulted in a disagreement between citizens regarding gender and race, some believe that certain races are favored under the new law, and are less likely to receive fines than others. If you want to further educate yourself on this topic click this link for more information Hands Free Law in Massachusetts.

Discussion Questions:

How do you feel about the hands free law? 

Do you think it will reduce the amount of accidents that occur yearly?

Why do you think Massachusetts was the last state to pass a law regarding phone usage? And how does this relate to the race, and gender prejudice in our country?   

If you were able to drive how prominent do you think your phone would be when your vehicle is moving?