Though he could delay opening statements in the trial, Woodlock said that is unlikely.

In a pretrial hearing Monday, US District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock said he probably will wait to decide whether the statements were voluntary, and thus admissible in court, until after the jury is sworn in, about July 7.

Two weeks before his trial on charges of obstructing the Boston Marathon bombing investigation is set to begin, a key question in the case against Azamat Tazhayakov, whether he spoke to investigators voluntarily after his arrest, remains unresolved.

“I’m more likely to say, ‘Let’s get going with the trial,’ ” the judge said.


In court Monday, prosecutors said Tazhayakov’s admissions to authorities are critical to their case.

Along with fellow Kazakhstan native Dias Kadyrbayev, Tazhayakov faces charges of conspiring to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with the intent to impede a terrorism investigation.

Authorities allege that the two young men, friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, disposed of a backpack with fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev’s dorm room after investigators released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, who are accused in the Marathon attack that killed 3 people and injured more than 260 on April 15, 2013.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov allegedly removed the backpack from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room on the evening of April 18, shortly after the FBI released photos of the bombing suspects, then threw the backpack in a dumpster. Investigators later found the backpack in a New Bedford landfill.

Woodlock ruled on a number of pretrial motions related to evidence and jury selection. He said he hopes to choose a jury from a pool of several hundred people next week, and attorneys will be allowed to run background checks on those who advance in the process.

Outside the courtroom Monday, one of Tazhayakov’s lawyers, Matthew Myers, told the Associated Press that his client rejected a plea deal from the government after his arrest. He did not provide details.


Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Zachary T. Sampson can be reached at zachary.sampson @globe.com.