1.Penalty-Phase Scheduling and Juror Admonitions

THE COURT: Welcome back.

This will be brief. Let me begin by asking, as I have before, about your compliance with my instructions. And I'd like you to answer verbally, if you would, either affirmatively or negatively. Specifically, have you refrained from discussing anything about the substance of the case, including your deliberations, with anyone, including each other?

THE COURT: Thank you. As I mentioned when you were last here, I anticipated we would take a short recess between the guilt phase and the penalty phase of the trial. And that is not uncommon in capital cases.

Last Friday we set the schedule. The jury administrator called each of you that day to tell you about it. He told you that you would be coming in today for a very brief session to hear information about logistics and other matters. He also told you, and I'll remind you now, that you'll not return to court until next Tuesday, a week from today, April 21st, when the presentation of evidence in the penalty phase will begin.

You may remember when the trial began and you completed the jury questionnaire there was an outline of the schedule that we were going to follow in the case, and that it would be Monday through Thursday. But we also noted that if there was a Monday holiday in the week, that we would use that Friday.

So next Monday is a state holiday, and we will follow that, so we'll begin on Tuesday, and we'll continue for the four days for the rest of the week. So that Friday we would expect to sit, on Friday the 24th, and we'll resume the normal Monday-through-Thursday schedule for the rest of the trial.

Predictions about how long a trial will last are usually worse than predictions about the weather, but to give you a general idea based on what the lawyers have told me, this phase is likely to take about four weeks or so.

There's one other important point -- very important point that I want to make with you. As you're undoubtedly aware, this week marks the anniversary of the crimes of which the defendant now stands convicted, and additionally, this coming Monday is the running of the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Almost all of you live outside of Boston. Some of you live quite far from Boston. And as a matter of fact, you might think it a little odd that we asked you to come all the way in here today for such a brief session. The fact that we have done so should be taken by you as an indication of how important these brief instructions are to your service as fair and impartial jurors in this case.

So I urge you to go about your lives in the coming week, between now and next Tuesday, and avoid any events that would put you in the position of being exposed to information that would be inappropriate for a juror on this case to see or hear while serving as an active juror.

Now, let me be quite direct about it. Do not attend the Boston Marathon or any related events or gatherings that are connected with the anniversary of the 2013 marathon or to this year's running of the marathon. I expect, given where most of you live and work, this will not be a difficult thing for you to do.

Additionally, as you're surely aware, the Boston Marathon is a matter not just of local, but of national and international, interest. It will be covered extensively not just in local media but in the national press. Under the circumstances, again, continue to avoid any coverage of the marathon, both in terms of the issues of this case and the current race. This includes, of course, TV, radio, newspaper, magazines, Internet, social media, and communications with other people about the events.

If you happen to see or hear anything that sounds like it's related to the marathon, related events in the media or from other people and so on, stop reading, turn off the TV or the computer, and put your attention in other places. If you're at work and it should happen, you know, leave the room or see what your coworkers will do to accommodate your needs.

And, of course, please continue to refrain from any communication with anyone, including each other, about the issues in the case. People are curious about what you're doing, but it's your duty to tell them if they inquire and discuss the issues -- and seek to discuss the issues with you that you cannot talk to them about it. If anyone persists in trying to speak to you about the case, I remind you that you can let any court official know and we'll come to your assistance.

Make sure your family members and coworkers understand your position, basically. I trust that you have been doing this all along, but I want to underscore that instruction now for this sensitive period. Now, I made this clear I think last week but out of an abundance of caution let me repeat it: These rules continue to apply to all our alternate jurors. Your service remains very important in this case. You may be called to deliberate if something were to happen to prevent one of the jurors who did deliberate in the guilt phase from continuing in the case. So that alternates are still very important to the process here.

You will be together in the jury room, you'll eat lunch together, you'll sit in the box as you are now during the presentation, all as happened during the guilt phase. So you remain under the same instructions with respect to communications and the media as the jurors who conducted the deliberations.

When you return next Tuesday, you all take your seats in the box. I'll give you some preliminary instructions, as I did before the prior phase, regarding the sentencing phase. The attorneys will have an opportunity to give you opening statements as they did, and then we'll proceed to the presentation of the evidence relating to your necessary judgment about the appropriate penalty to be imposed on the capital crimes for which you found the defendant guilty.

Until then, please put the case out of your minds, enjoy the warm weather and keep busy with other things. And we will see you back here next Tuesday, all right?

We'll be in recess.