Eric Traub — Direct/Cross - Day 59 - 2015 Federal Trial

Defense witnesses described family relationships, adolescent brain development, medical records, school experiences, and custody conduct. Prosecutors questioned the limits of those accounts and the certainty of continued prison restrictions; the judge limited broader prison-condition questioning.

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Direct Examination - Eric Traub

DirectDirectDirect Examination - Eric Traub

ERIC TRAUB, duly sworn

COURT CLERK: State your name, and spell your first and last name for the record. Keep your voice up, and speak into the mic so everyone can hear you.

ERIC TRAUB: Eric Traub, E-R-I-C, T-R-A-U-B.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CLARKE:

MS. CLARKE: Mr. Traub, where do you live?

ERIC TRAUB: I live in Washington, D.C.

MS. CLARKE: Are you married? Do you have a family there?

ERIC TRAUB: I'm married, and I have a daughter.

MS. CLARKE: What do you do for a living?

ERIC TRAUB: I am a software engineer. I work at a small company.

MS. CLARKE: In the Washington, D.C., area?

ERIC TRAUB: Yes.

MS. CLARKE: Where did you go to college?

ERIC TRAUB: I went to MIT.

MS. CLARKE: When did you go there?

ERIC TRAUB: From 1995 to 1999.

MS. CLARKE: Did you have another career before you became a software engineer in D.C.?

ERIC TRAUB: Yes, I did. I was a teacher.

MS. CLARKE: And where were you teaching?

ERIC TRAUB: I taught at several schools. I taught at the Commonwealth School in Boston as well as City on a Hill in Boston and Cambridge Rindge and Latin in Cambridge.

MS. CLARKE: And is there some intersection between your interest in software and your interest in teaching?

ERIC TRAUB: Yeah. I originally -- well, software is mostly composed of mathematics; and for several of the years that I was a teacher, I was also a computer science teacher, so I taught both math and computer science and was very interested in the intersection between those two.

MS. CLARKE: And your degree at MIT was in?

ERIC TRAUB: I have a bachelor's of science in computer science and engineering.

MS. CLARKE: And you told us that you taught at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Do you recall the years?

ERIC TRAUB: Yeah. I started there in 2007, and I finished in 2011.

MS. CLARKE: Do you know Jahar Tsarnaev?

ERIC TRAUB: Yes, I do.

MS. CLARKE: Do you see him here in the courtroom?

ERIC TRAUB: I do.

MS. CLARKE: And when did you -- did you teach Jahar?

ERIC TRAUB: He was my student in 2007, in the fall, and in the fall of 2010.

MS. CLARKE: So you had him for two -- two semesters or two full years?

ERIC TRAUB: Two semesters.

MS. CLARKE: And what did you teach?

ERIC TRAUB: I was his math teacher, so I taught him in Algebra I and a class called Honors Advanced Math Topics, which is a course for seniors in which we look at a variety of topics, like probabilities, statistics, and discrete math.

MS. CLARKE: So you taught him at the beginning of his high school years and at the end of his high school years?

ERIC TRAUB: That's correct.

MS. CLARKE: How would you describe Jahar for the jury?

ERIC TRAUB: Jahar was a kind student. He got along great with his peers. I really liked having him in the classroom because he participated. He brought kind of a fun energy to the classroom.

MS. CLARKE: Was he outspoken? Quiet? How would you describe him?

ERIC TRAUB: He wasn't outspoken in the sense of being disruptive in the classroom. He was quiet, but he was always, you know, willing to engage in conversation.

MS. CLARKE: And did he have a particular group of friends or -- were you aware?

ERIC TRAUB: I didn't know of any particular clique that he hung out with. In my classroom he seemed to get along -- seeing him in my classroom, he seemed to get along with all the students. Freshman year was a bigger class, and he kept to himself a little bit more as a freshman. There were a few students I know that he hung out with. I know the Silva brothers were in that class, and he was friends with them.

MS. CLARKE: I'm going to pull up a photograph.

MS. CLARKE: I don't think there's any objection, your Honor. 3246?

MR. MELLIN: That's fine, your Honor.

THE COURT: Okay.

MS. CLARKE: I'd like to make sure that goes into evidence.

(Defense Exhibit No. 3246 received into evidence.)

BY MS. CLARKE:

MS. CLARKE: Do you recognize that photograph?

ERIC TRAUB: I do.

MS. CLARKE: And can you tell the -- you can actually touch the screen and point to people. Can you tell the jury who that is?

ERIC TRAUB: Sure. This is Jahar; this is one of the Silva brothers, one of the twins; and that's me.

MS. CLARKE: That's probably not a picture that you want to send around the world.

ERIC TRAUB: No.

(Laughter.)

MS. CLARKE: Can you tell us, do you recall the occasion?

ERIC TRAUB: Sure. We were -- I can tell what was happening. I don't remember the specific day. You can see in the background there's some students leaving the classroom, so this is probably after school, class has just ended, and -- I don't remember if I was invited into this photo or if I decided just to jump in and photobomb them, but I was just goofing off and blowing off some steam after school.

MS. CLARKE: But you had a good relationship, I take it, with Jahar?

ERIC TRAUB: Yeah. We had a good relationship.

MS. CLARKE: Did you know anything about Jahar's ethnic or religious background?

ERIC TRAUB: I didn't know much about his ethnic background. I knew he spoke Russian, and I knew he was Muslim.

MS. CLARKE: How did you know that?

ERIC TRAUB: He and some of the other students occasionally prayed in a classroom near mine.

MS. CLARKE: Did you ever hear Jahar talk about American policies overseas or politics?

ERIC TRAUB: No.

MS. CLARKE: Did you ever meet his parents?

ERIC TRAUB: No.

MS. CLARKE: Were there opportunities at Cambridge Rindge for teachers to meet parents?

ERIC TRAUB: Yeah. There were two things that happened. These were both freshman year and senior year. It hadn't changed. There's an open house at the start of each semester in which parents can go through the students' classes, and then there's a parent-teacher night where parents can schedule one-on-one sessions to talk with the teachers.

MS. CLARKE: And they never came to those?

ERIC TRAUB: They never came to the one-on-one meetings. It's possible they came to one of the open houses but -- the open houses you have all the parents there, and it's not a one-on-one interaction. You kind of explain the classroom and what happens there, so...

MS. CLARKE: Did you know that Jahar had siblings?

ERIC TRAUB: I did not.

MS. CLARKE: At some point did Jahar ask you to write a letter of recommendation for him to go to college?

ERIC TRAUB: He did.

MS. CLARKE: And what was your reaction when he asked you to do that?

ERIC TRAUB: I was happy to write it for him. I was excited about writing a letter for a student that I had had in my -- like, seeing him as he started school and seeing him at the end of his school is -- it's fun to write a letter like that. It's fun to -- for a student that you get to see both as they enter and finish school.

MS. CLARKE: So I'm going to pull that up. It's Exhibit 3247-3.

THE COURT: Is there any objection to this?

MR. MELLIN: No, your Honor.

THE COURT: Okay.

(Defense Exhibit No. 3247-3 received into evidence.)

BY MS. CLARKE:

MS. CLARKE: Do you recognize this letter?

ERIC TRAUB: I do.

MS. CLARKE: And is it the letter of recommendation that you wrote?

ERIC TRAUB: Yes.

MS. CLARKE: I'm going to ask you to read it to the jury. I think that might make it large enough.

ERIC TRAUB: Thank you.

MS. CLARKE: Can you see that okay?

ERIC TRAUB: Yeah. I can read that.

MS. CLARKE: Would you read it to the jury?

ERIC TRAUB: Sure. "Dear Admissions Officer: "I write with enthusiasm to you in recommendation of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. I have known Dzhokhar since the start of his freshman year in high school when I was his Algebra I teacher. This fall he has been a student in Honors Advanced Math Topics, an elective which explores a variety of topics in discrete math with a focus on their application in the real world. Dzhokhar is a smart, energetic and friendly student. "Dzhokhar is a good student. He quickly absorbs new ideas and has a close-to-perfect homework record. He brings a healthy, energetic, competitive spirit to the class. He motivates himself in class with academic competitions of his own devising (such as racing to write down notes or completing a calculation). His tongue-in-cheek contests are taken in good spirit and have a beneficial effect on the attention of not only himself but the classmates he is competing against. "Dzhokhar is amiable with his peers and adults. His good nature and positive spirit have made Dzhokhar a pleasure to know over the past four years. He is always polite and respectful and enters the classroom with a warm greeting. He is well regarded by his peers and gets along well with everyone in the class. I can rely on him to contribute positively to any permutation of students with whom he is grouped. "Dzhokhar is a strong student with a positive attitude. I enjoy teaching him both as a freshman and as a senior because of his competitive academic drive and positive disposition. It has been a pleasure to have him at our school, and I strongly recommend him to you."

MS. CLARKE: You wrote that in December 2010, right?

ERIC TRAUB: That's correct.

MS. CLARKE: Were you sincere about everything that you said in that letter of recommendation?

100

ERIC TRAUB: Absolutely.

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MS. CLARKE: And do you mean those things even as you sit here today?

102

ERIC TRAUB: I do.

103

MS. CLARKE: Where were you when you heard about the Boston Marathon bombing?

104

ERIC TRAUB: I was in South Africa visiting my brother.

105

MS. CLARKE: And did you have -- can you tell us what your thoughts were when you learned that Jahar Tsarnaev was suspected of being involved in the bombing?

106

MR. MELLIN: Objection.

107

THE COURT: Sustained in that form.

108

BY MS. CLARKE:

109

MS. CLARKE: What you heard -- when you learned that Jahar Tsarnaev was involved in the bombing, was that consistent with the Jahar Tsarnaev that you knew?

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ERIC TRAUB: Not at all. I was shocked when I saw his picture on TV, and then his name was there. In fact, I didn't even believe it was him at first because it just didn't make sense to me, and it took me a while to absorb that it was him and that, you know, I wasn't misunderstanding.

111

MS. CLARKE: Well, now that you know that it was him, what are your thoughts about it?

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MR. MELLIN: Objection.

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THE COURT: Sustained.

114

BY MS. CLARKE:

115

MS. CLARKE: Do you have any reflections on --

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MR. MELLIN: Objection.