Day 64 - May 14, 2015

Jury questions prompted a charge conference about gateway factors and unanimity. The government initially proposed telling jurors to consider aiding and abetting and conspiracy; the defense argued that gateway findings required Tsarnaev’s personal actions and intent. The court requested clarification of the question. After reviewing the instructions, the government agreed with the defense’s proposed reference to the existing paragraph on personal actions and intent. Judge O’Toole then instructed jurors that gateway-factor findings must concern Tsarnaev’s own actions and intent, not anyone else’s, and explained permissible inferences about intent. For the first aggravating factor, jurors had to agree unanimously on Part A, Part B, or both. He also explained how to record findings applicable to all counts or only some counts, then directed jurors to resume deliberations.