UPDATE | Tsarnaev lawyers ask US appeals court to move bombing trial

BOSTON (AP) — A lawyer for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pressed a federal appeals court today to move his trial out of Massachusetts, citing "saturation publicity" about the case and the large number of people in the state who were personally affected by the deadly attack.

In arguments before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 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.

"This attack was viewed as an attack on the marathon itself ... and an attack on the city of Boston," Mizner told a three-judge panel of the appeals court.

Mizner said media coverage of the marathon continues unabated — nearly two years after the bombings — as news organizations cover the recovery of the victims. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when twin bombs exploded near the marathon finish line. Tsarnaev could face the death penalty if convicted.

Mizner said many of the prospective jurors who have been questioned individually by U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole Jr. have cited close personal ties to the case, including a man who said his wife is a nurse who treated victims in an intensive care unit the day of the bombings.

If the trial is moved out of state, "people won't come to it with the same set of emotions and feelings," she said.