Day 42 - March 31, 2015

Computer and Fingerprint Testimony; Defense Rests

20Proceedings

8Pages

2Witnesses

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Day 42 of 67

Appearing:

Defense witnesses Mark Spencer and Elena Graff addressed computer records, fingerprint findings, and the limits of attributing activity or timing contact. The defense rested, and the court read a Count 7 foreign-national victim stipulation with legal objections preserved. The renewed Rule 29 motion remained reserved, with closing statements scheduled for Monday.

Full day summary

Defense witnesses Mark Spencer and Elena Graff testified about digital records and latent fingerprints before the defense rested. The court favored selected Samsung search-history excerpts over the complete history and later required a witness to authenticate arrest photographs. The defense declined to delay the trial further to call a witness. Spencer compared the Samsung described as Tamerlan Tsarnaev's laptop with the Sony. He identified firearm, electronics, fireworks, and Marathon searches on the Samsung, but found none of the specified firearm or electronics terms and no pre-bombing Marathon searches in the Sony history. On cross-examination, he confirmed other Sony searches and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's use of the Samsung. Spencer said records appeared to show Complete Inspire being copied from the Samsung to the Sony through a missing Patriot thumb drive on January 21, 2012. He had no forensic image of that drive and cautioned about timestamps, incomplete attachment records, and search-extraction tools. Account identifiers did not establish who was at the keyboard or what that person was thinking. Graff identified two Dzhokhar fingerprints and six Tamerlan fingerprints on a Tupperware container. She reported Tamerlan's prints on several other items and no matches to Dzhokhar from Scene A or Scene B. On cross-examination, she explained that absent prints do not establish that someone never touched an item and confirmed both brothers' fingerprints on the bomb found in the abandoned Mercedes. She also explained that paper and cardboard can preserve prints for months or years; she could identify contact, not its timing. After disputes over proposed additional foreign-national victim testimony, the court allowed a stipulation while preserving the defense's legal objections. Following the defense's rest, the court read the stipulation that a Count 7 victim was a national of another state and not a United States citizen. The court declared the evidence concluded, reserved the renewed Rule 29 motion, and scheduled closing statements, instructions, and the start of deliberations for Monday. Counsel then addressed jury exhibit access and redactions; some exhibit and scheduling questions remained unresolved.

Procedural

Defense Evidence Rulings: Search History, Arrest Photos, and Travel Record

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The court favored targeted search-history excerpts and permitted seven arrest photographs and a limited travel document.

Direct

Mark Spencer - Direct Examination Mark Spencer William W. Fick

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Spencer contrasted Samsung and Sony search histories and described records suggesting Complete Inspire was copied between them through a missing Patriot thumb drive.

Highlights

Mark Spencer - Direct Examinationtestimony highlightSpencer read gun-store and Boston Marathon searches from the Samsung history, then said the Sony history lacked the specified firearm and electronics terms and had no Boston Marathon searches before the bombing.Mark Spencer - Direct Examinationtestimony highlightSpencer described Patriot attachment events and file-creation records that appeared to indicate Complete Inspire was copied from the Samsung to the Sony. The court overruled an argumentative-question objection, and Spencer reported no indication of an internet download at that time or another source.Mark Spencer - Direct Examination“So this would appear to indicate that completeinspire.pdf was copied from the Samsung laptop and then copied to the Sony laptop.”— Mark SpencerExpresses the central copying inference while retaining Spencer's qualification.

Cross

Mark Spencer - Cross-Examination Mark Spencer Aloke Chakravarty

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Spencer confirmed additional Sony searches and shared Samsung use, while resisting broader conclusions from file dates and attachment records.

Redirect

Mark Spencer - Redirect Examination Mark Spencer William W. Fick

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Spencer qualified the interpretation of Sony search artifacts and identified Samsung search entries; the court admitted 13 Samsung pages over objection.

Recross

Mark Spencer - Recross-Examination Mark Spencer Aloke Chakravarty

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Spencer confirmed the dates of web-search-related records but could not identify who made the searches.

Highlights

Mark Spencer - Cross-ExaminationadmissionSpencer said forensic analysis could not identify the person at the keyboard with specificity or establish what that person was thinking. He confirmed that the defendant used Tamerlan's computer, but would not fix the email-login date without reviewing the history.Mark Spencer - Cross-Examination“We can't say with specificity who is at that keyboard.”— Mark SpencerStates the central limit on attributing computer activity to a particular person.

Direct

Elena Graff - Direct Examination Elena Graff Timothy G. Watkins

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Graff compared the brothers' fingerprints on tools and blast evidence, identifying numerous Tamerlan matches and two Dzhokhar prints on a container.

Cross

Elena Graff - Cross-Examination Elena Graff William D. Weinreb

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Graff explained why absent fingerprints do not exclude handling and confirmed both brothers' prints on the bomb found in the Mercedes.

Redirect

Elena Graff - Redirect Examination Elena Graff Timothy G. Watkins

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Graff explained fingerprint preservation on cardboard and confirmed Tamerlan Tsarnaev's post-blast prints; the court restricted a proposed demonstration.

1 sidebar inside this proceeding

Cardboard Display During Fingerprint TestimonyCounsel disputed using cardboard with a fingerprint expert to compare bomb components, discuss fingerprint surfaces, and rebut testimony about heat effects.

Recross

Elena Graff - Recross-Examination Elena Graff William D. Weinreb

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Graff could not date fingerprint contact; the defense finished presenting witnesses and faced an authentication objection to proposed pictures.

Highlights

Elena Graff - Direct Examinationtestimony highlightGraff identified two fingerprints of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and six of Tamerlan Tsarnaev on the Tupperware container depicted in Exhibit 1122.Elena Graff - Direct Examinationtestimony highlightGraff said more than 500 Boylston Street items yielded six latent impressions. A fingerprint and palm print on two cardboard pieces were identified to Tamerlan; no Scene A prints were identified to Dzhokhar.Elena Graff - Cross-ExaminationadmissionGraff confirmed that the bomb found in the Mercedes abandoned on Laurel Street in Watertown bore fingerprints of both Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.Elena Graff - Recross-Examination“I can only tell if someone touched an item. I can't tell when that contact happened.”— Elena GraffStates the timing limitation of Graff's fingerprint findings.

sidebar

Arrest Photo Authentication and Renewed Evidence Requests

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Counsel disputed authentication requirements for arrest photographs, and the defense renewed requests concerning the range issue, government statements about apartment use, and discovery identifying their source.

recess

Brief Recess for Defense Consultation

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sidebar

Rule 29 Jurisdictional Exemption and Proposed Testimony

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Counsel disputed who bore the burden on a jurisdictional exemption raised in the Rule 29 motion and whether the government could offer testimony about a foreign national injured at Scene A.

Jurisdictional Proof by Victim Testimony or Stipulation

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The defense objected to proposed victim testimony as prejudicial and offered a stipulation while preserving its challenge to the government’s jurisdictional proof in its case-in-chief.

recess

Recess to Consider the Proposed Stipulation

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sidebar

Stipulation Reading With Legal Arguments Preserved

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The discussion addressed proof sufficiency, exemption applicability, the defense’s objection to government rebuttal, and the timing of a renewed Rule 29 motion.

Highlights

Foreign-National Victim Stipulation Allowed with Objections PreservedrulingThe court allowed the stipulation to be read while preserving arguments about sufficiency, the exemption, and whether additional evidence could be received. It stated that jurors would be instructed to disregard the stipulation if the defense arguments prevailed.

Procedural

Defense Rests; Count 7 Stipulation Closes the Evidence

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The defense rested, the court reserved the renewed Rule 29 motion, and a Count 7 stipulation concluded the evidence. Closings and deliberations were scheduled for Monday.

sidebar

Defendant’s Decision Not to Testify

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After Weinreb noted the absence of a personal court inquiry, Clarke confirmed that the defendant agreed not to testify and that she had discussed the matter with him.

Procedural

Courtroom Adjournment

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