A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that any high-profile case would receive significant media attention, but that knowledge of such case "does not equate to disqualifying prejudice." Tsarnaev's lawyers had asked O'Toole three times to move the trial, but he refused, saying bias among prospective jurors could be rooted out through careful questioning about their thoughts on Tsarnaev and the death penalty. In arguments before the appeals court, federal public defender Judith Mizner said the local jury pool is "connected to the case in many ways" and cannot be counted on to be fair and impartial.